


Your eyes

by Sweetnekocat



Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Comedy, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Violence, Whole Cake Island spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-04
Updated: 2018-05-29
Packaged: 2019-05-02 05:05:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 25
Words: 27,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14537301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sweetnekocat/pseuds/Sweetnekocat
Summary: When Valentine's day comes around, Sanji expects it to be the most amazing one he ever had! Little does he know that it's about to be ruined by his dear captain...





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, it's my first fanfic ever and I wanted it to be a Sanlu one since there are so little for the pairing! Hope you enjoy it!   
> Also english isn't my native language so please bear with me :)

The day was a beautiful one, the sky clear with few clouds, the breeze was calm and everything semeed to be in place. The whole Mugiwara kaizoku were at peace and waiting for the next island they had to get to accomplish their dream: finding the One Piece. But for the time being they were on their ship, the Sunny, which rocked back and forth slowly but with intention to their next destination. 

Each member of the crew was out there doing whatever they found funny or interesting: Luffy, Usopp and Chopper were fishing and being generally loud as always; Robin and Nami were drinking tea; Zoro was practicing with his sword; Franky was repairing some devices; Brook was off singing somewhere; and Jimbe was looking at the ocean. Whereas Sanji was making dinner for the pirates.

Now, while most of the crew were doing simple things, Sanji had a plan in his head. Valentine’s day was approaching and he had to give the ladies the best chocolate he could make! Of course with his cooking skills it wasn’t that much of challenge but he wanted it to be perfect and definitely a secret so he could impress them, because maybe that way one of the girls would finally fall for him. The thought of it drived him crazy. So with such things in mind he continued to make dinner for later.  
……………..  
It was only one day away from Valentines and Sanji was in his kitchen already with everything he needed for chocolate making. He was alone trying to melt the chocolate when he heard a knock on the door. It was both Nami and Robin. He made them come in and started giving poor explications as to why he had so much chocolate in the kitchen when asked. The women laughed and said that they already knew what he was doing and that they wanted to help. At first Sanji made attempts to convince the girls from doing it but they refused easily.   
So the three of them started melting chocolate and waited for it to cool down. When it was ready for the next step of the recipe something blasted through the door, crashing in the floor and making a ruckus. They looked to see what it was but Sanji already knew what it was, more like who it was. What they saw was a man laying in the floor spread out. Being right about who it was, Sanji was more than ready to scold Luffy, his captain, for entering the kitchen in a savage way but he looked apologetic enough to give him a tongue lash. He asked him why the hell he came in that way though, to which Luffy simply said it was because he was sparring with Zoro and things got out of hand rather quickly. 

Luffy finally incorporated and stood up from the floor. He said sorry without Sanji having to tell him or Nami hitting him in the head. Then he started to look around him and the sight of chocolate greeted him. He came close to the chococalte cooling down and was about to eat it when Sanji was able to catch him. 

“Why would you stop me?!” Said Luffy angryly at being denied eating something so good like chocolate.

“Because this is for the girls, not for you!” Sanji stated simply.

“I don’t get it. Why would the girls have chocolate and not me!”

“Because it’s special chocolate”. Once again Sanji said calmly

Luffy looked at him like he had grown to heads, but soon picked interest in the word “special”. With eyes filled with curiosity he asked, “Why is it special?”

Sanji was getting tired of the conversation, he didn’t want to explain to this man-child what the whole thing meant or the importance that Valentine’s day held for him. Before he could talk though, Robin began explaining to Luffy what was happening with a small smile. “Tomorrow is Valentine’s day, captain”. She said with mirth in her eyes, like telling him this was the most fun thing in the world. 

“What’s that?”. Luffy was completely lost.

“Oh, it’s an international date for people to give chocolate to their loved ones”

Luffy was understanding but somehow still didn’t get why would Sanji not prepare any for the rest of the crew. So, he exclaimed, “Then Sanji, why are you not making any for me too?!”

Sanji seemed perplexed at the question and had to take a few breaths to calm himself. He knew that his captain was oblivious, but there had to be a limit. After a moment he sighed and tried to put his best face to explain how things worked.

“Luffy, this type of love is different from the one I feel for the crew” He began slowly. “It’s ah…r-romantic love” 

He felt nervous and didn’t know why. Maybe it was because it was like having the talk with a small boy but he continued before Luffy could ask what was romantic love.

“It’s the type of love when you want to spend the rest of your life with someone, hold hands with them, k-kiss them and things like that” He felt out of breath and his face totally red. 

One way or another it seemed that Luffy had understood since apparently something had clicked in his eyes. Now he looked more than interested. Sanji was afraid to be honest with himself. Before he could say anything, Luffy began looking with hopeful eyes at him, the same he used to get more food-it never worked but he always tried. 

Little did Sanji know that the next words that would come out from Luffy’s mouth were ones that would change his entire life.  
“Sanji, can I make some?”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The instant Luffy pulled his head up and gulped, he was sure something life changing would come out of his captain’s mouth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you are reading this, thank you so much! It means a lot to me :)

Sanji knew he was gaping like a fish out of water, but how could he get his face back to normal when his captain, though indirectly, had just confessed that he was probably in love with someone! Luffy, whom he thought to be asexual, was declaring that he wanted to make home made chocolate for someone out there! 

He took a huge breath to calm himself from having his brain explode. When he felt okay and ready to talk, he looked around and Nami was the same as he was a few moments ago: gaping like a fish and with eyes out of their sockets. She still looked beautiful though.  


When he turned around to check on Robin he was greeted with an image of pure happiness; the woman looked serene but underneath all that a smile, bigger than usual, graced her face. It was almost the face of a mother watching his son accomplishing something.  


The man with the black suit was more than confused by the situation but he couldn’t keep quiet anymore because it was driving him crazy. So he asked Luffy in the most gentle way he could, why he would like to make chocolate for Valentine’s day.

“Because the person i want to spend the rest of my life with deserves some good chocolate” He said confindently, with a huge smile and rosy cheeks.

At this, Sanji felt like gaping for air again but he quickly controlled himself. The same could not be said about Nami, who had regained compusture only moments ago to almost pass out on the floor after listening to Luffy.

Meanwhile, Luffy was beggining to look embarassed and the red color of his cheeks was spreading to his whole face and neck. Somehow to Sanji the situation was starting to be a very sweet one. Who could have thought that his young captain was able to feel that way!  


So, instead of being an ass to him and telling him to go annoy someone else while he prepared chocolate for the girls, he smiled at him and finally decided to let him make some good ol’ chocolate for whoever it was he loved.

…….

Things had resumed but Sanji just had to know one thing about this whole ordeal. Was Luffy by any chance in love with his dear Nami or Robin? The thought alone made him mad. He would never ever let something like that happen! He then prepared himself mentally for whatever it would come his way. He sighed and made way to get Luffy out of earshot. He asked the most silent way he could, “So, Luffy, is the chocolate you are making for Nami or for Robin?” The older man said with a grimace. He began again, “Because I would feel really bad if that was the case”

To this Luffy simply smiled, but something flickered in his eyes that Sanji wasn’t able to understand. 

“It’s not for any of the girls from the crew. I love them, just not this way”.

Sanji let out a sigh of relief. He was really worried about the chocolates being for one of the girls. He could get jealous or the dynamic of the group could tarnish if something went wrong. 

He guided his captain back to where he was before and continued cooking the chocolate for tomorrow. 

One thing was bugging him though: if the chocolates weren’t for any of the ladies, then whose were they? Were they for some of the many girls he had helped out when getting into adventures while on islands? Or were they for one of the crew anyways? That last thought made him a little nervous since if the chocolates weren’t for the girls then only the guys were an option. He gulped at that. He felt like he was playing some sort of russian roulette. He wasn’t by any means homophobic but he found it interesting that his captain would feel that way for a man, specially when he had a beauty like Boa Hancock waiting for him. Of course he was only assuming things, it wasn’t confirmed or anything, but the more he thought about it the more things he concluded. First one, for example, was that it couldn’t be him because Luffy had never been that close to him to begin with. Sure his captain treated him well and always said how much he needed him, but they never spent time together, though maybe that was because he kicked him out the kitchen all the time. 

Second one: it would never, in a billion years, be Jimbe, Franky, Brook or Chopper. The fishman was more like a father figure to Luffy, Franky was too weird to fall in love with, Brook was dead and Chopper was like a little brother to the crew.  
So that only left two options: Usopp or Zoro. With Usopp one could say they got along the best and they had the same age, but for Sanji, Luffy and Zoro’s special relationship of captain and first mate was a more deciding factor in who it may be the younger one’s love.  
Thinking that it may be Zoro stirred something weird in him. It was probably the fact that he hated the guts of the moss head that made him so restless.

Finally content with knowing the girls weren’t possible love options for Luffy, he resumed his work.

…………………………

Sanji woke up that day with an intense sense of hapinness, he just couldn’t wait to give his precious girl mates the chocolate the three had worked so hard on making! Since he always had to get up earlier that the rest to cook breakfast, he knew he indeed had to wait paciently for his beloved women, so to past time faster he dedicated himself to make the food for the pirates with his full atention.

When finished he realized he was done before the usual time the crew woke up, so he lighted up a cigarette to calm himself. He was nervous, but didn’t know why. It wasn’t about the chocolate for the girls, that much he was sure. It was just something weird in the air, almost as if a storm would break out at any time and was making him feel uneasy. 

His cigarette burnt out and after having quiet himself down through deep breaths, he decided he was restless without a good cause so he stopped thinking.

It wasn’t that much time later when the crew found itself seated inside the kitchen eating a well prepared breakfast. As always there was noise and ruckus since it was the Mugiwara kaizoku we were talking about but if one knew their captain well enough, it was easy to see that he was beyond nervous. 

He looked out of breath, with sweat all over his face and a flushed face. He was still making the same racket as always but he was totally different at the time. Jimbe, obviously worried for his captain, was about to ask what was going on, but was swiftly interrumped by Zoro who just simple shook his head as a sign not to procede. 

Zoro held a special place within the crew and everyone knew it, so Jimbe or anyone else for that matter didn’t want to inquire anything about what they were witnessing.

Sanji in his mind was wondering if all of this was because of the chocolates. He looked around to catch Nami’s gaze and see if she was thinking the same, and when he did he was sure the young woman was suspecting just like him had. 

To lighten up the mood he decided to get the whole crew out of the kitchen as fast as he could. Of course the moss head, Usopp and Brook had to whine about being kicked out, but he pushed them outside nonetheless. He then took the heart-shaped chocolates that were enveloped with white paper and pink hearts covering it. He was more than ready to give his lovely girls the chocolate they deserved, as Luffy had said. When he was about to get out of the kitchen too, he remembered that his young captain had also made some chocolates as he had easily forgotten because of his emotion of handing out finally the chocolate. 

He went to grab them. These chocolates were different that the ones he had made. They were just round shaped, by Luffy’s petition (which only reaffirmed the fact that the chocolates were for a man), and the envelope was a simple baby blue one. He took them and headed for the door. When he got out he caught a glimpse of Luffy in the front of the ship. He thought it was only fair to give them to him before since he didn’t know the things that could or would happen with the girls after he gave them their chocolates. Deep down in his mind he knew he was being delusional, but he continued with said thoughts. 

He called out to Luffy and the captain approached him fastly, wondering what was going on. 

The taller man was thinking about a million of things, but what occupied his mind right at the moment was the face Zoro would make when Luffy gave him the chocolate. He was practically laughing but he didn’t since he was observant enough to see that Luffy was still very unsettled. 

He had the three envelopes with the chocolate in his hands and took out the one that had made Luffy with ease. He winked at him and gave him a reassuring smile so the young one could calm down a little. To this Luffy made a grimace and the flush from his cheeks turned darker than before.

The captain held out his hand for Sanji to give him the chocolates which he did. Then, Luffy completly nervous started looking down at the floor. The older male was confused and worried for him, so he called him at least three times before Luffy would look up to him. He knew this odd behavior was being watched on by the whole crew, so he knew than sooner than later someone would come to help.

The instant Luffy pulled his head up and gulped, he was sure something life changing would come out of his captain’s mouth.

“Sanji, I made these chocolates for you” He then leaned in and gave the blonde a peck in the left cheek.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sanji takes deep breaths to calm himself...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here it's the third chapter. I don't know how long this fic will be but I'm working a lot on it :)

There was no place for mistakes here: what had happened, what had been said, what had been done by Monkey D. Luffy was no lapse. He had done it with intent-with killing intent for Sanji.

Sanji stood there with his mind trying to come back to reality, but it was just impossible. He was just as confused as he looked and he definitely heard some gasps from the crew. For the pirates it must have come out of nowhere since most of them didn’t even know what Valentine’s day was, so watching and listening to what Luffy had said and done it was probably beyond their minds.

It was likely that a whole minute had transcurred before he came back fully to his senses. He still felt disconcerted by everything but now he could focus on what was in front of him: a very distressed Luffy, mortified out of his mind, and a flush that covered all the spots visible of skin his clothes let one see. 

He didn’t know what to say. Where to even begin? How to calm down Luffy? How to reject him in nicely? 

He gulped just like his captain had done before his confession and started looking around for answers. What he found were looks of pure bewilderment in some, other were perplexed, but what he found in Zoro was an angry stare. In Robin he found confidence and he felt that she was telling him with her eyes to say something.

He stopped looking around and his eyes settled on Luffy. He knew he had to be as sensitive as he could, so he started with the most simple thing:

“Are these for me?” Luffy simply nodded and somehow seemed to relax a little. For him it was a confirmation that what happened had indeed occur.

“Why didn’t you tell me before?” He didn’t want to sound upset with the black haired man but he just had to ask.

“I don’t know. I wanted to give you a surprise” His captain said with a small smile but by no means it reached his eyes; he was still nervous.

“You sure did!” Said Sanji in the most laid back way he could. He then sighed and decided that it was time for the most the difficult part: to reject his captain in front of the whole crew. Later he would think that it would have been better if he had taken Luffy somewhere else but he didn’t.

“Captain, you see” He began with some formality and continued. “While I aprecciate your feelings and chocolates, I just don’t feel the same way”. He was looking directly at Luffy in the eyes, and the younger one seemed to be on the verge of tears, he also felt like that.  
He prosecuted with the most sincere words he had ever said: 

“I’m so sorry, Luffy”

Finally something clicked inside Luffy and he pulled a small smile and thanked him for his time and words, but his whole aura and demeanor betrayed him and the obvious sadness he felt. He then got away from the inquisitive eyes of his crew and entered the bedroom for men.

At that moment, Sanji felt all eyes on him. Most of them were taken aback from the situation, but only a few showed him something else. Nami´s were ones of pity; Zoro’s were filled with rage instead of the angry stare he had had a minute ago; and Robin´s were ones of understanding.

That’s when he heard Usopp trying to lighten up the mood by coughing, it actually worked because everyone got out of their stupor and resumed the things they were doing.

He started to head to the kitchen, chocolates completely forgotten. The blond man watched as Nami was approaching him at a fast pace. When she finally caught up to him, they both entered the kitchen. 

The older man knew something was up with the red head so he tried to be as nice as he could be with her. He then put the two chocolates for the girls on the table and waited for Nami to speak up.

“I’m so sorry for both of you” She said with an afflicted tone. “I’m sure everyone is worried sick about you guys. I am at least”

“Don’t be. If there is one person you should worry about is Luffy, not me”. Said Sanji after lightening one cigarette.

The blond man took a few puffs from his cigarette while Nami remained quiet. Then she spoke up again

“I never could have thought it was you” She then emited a small laugh, not one of offense but a humorless one. “When he said he wanted to prepare chocolates for someone I thought they were for Zoro, to be honest”.

Sanji smiled a little and said, “Me too” And then declared with a sad tone.

“I wish it had been that way” Somehow saying that out loud made him kind of mad, though he knew it was futile. He started again. “I’m sure the moss head loves him. They would have been so happy together”. 

He almost felt like crying. Why did it have to be him? What was Luffy thinking when he fell for him? Why couldn’t it be someone who would love him back? Someone who liked men and not women like him. Seeing his captain with a broken heart and being the cause of it was one of the worst sensations Sanji had ever felt.

Nami was watching him intently but said nothing, then she put her hand on his shoulder and gave it a small squeeze as a comforting way. She looked at him with a puzzled face and asked.

“Why do you say Zoro loves Luffy?”

“He was on the verge of punching me in the face after I rejected him” He shrugged.

“Mmm” Nami hummed. “Maybe he’s just mad because you rejected him and not because he likes him?” She said but sounded totally unsure of what she had spoken in the first place. She continued though. “You should give it time, I’m sure Luffy is gonna be over it in a few days” She tried to smile.

Nevertheless, both knew that their captain was visibly affected by the whole situation and it would take some time for him to get back in track. They hoped that in a few week things would go back to normal but the atmosphere said otherwise.

After their short conversation, Nami decided it was better to go and headed to the door. When he was finally alone with his thoughts he realized he only had two chocolates.

He hadn’t been able to recieve the one Luffy had made with so much effort. And that hurt him like little things did.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things go back to normal?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a new chapter! I want to thank everyone who's reading out there cause it means a lot to me :)

The rest of the day that Luffy had confesed to Sanji was one the most weird ones the crew had to witness. Their captain after a while got out of the men’s bedroom and headed to play with Usopp and Chopper. Then when lunch was ready, he went with the whole crew to the kitchen. Sanji was baffled because of it. One would think the young one would try to avoid him like the plague but he didn’t, he even spoke to him to get more meat. Then after finishing his plate he went out with Zoro to spar in the afternoon. When dinner was served he entered the kitchen like nothing had happened and, after three portions of meat later, he got out of the kitchen with ease to accompany Jimbe in the night lookout. 

While everyone was more than happy to see their captain doing his daily activities, it was clear that he was upset. The weird thing about the situation was that he indeed did all the things he was supposed to but seemed as if he was somewhere else, not with them. And that broke everyone’s heart, especially Sanji’s.

………………………………..

Finally done with cleaning the kitchen, Sanji left to get some sleep that he knew would never come. It would be one of those nights where he was sleepless. 

When he got inside the bedroom it was obscure as most of the time since he usually was the last one to get to sleep. He headed for his bed completely tired. Then he pulled out his shoes and decided to try to sleep a little.

He couldn’t. 

The blond man was absolutely worried for his captain. He repeated the scene of the confession over and over, trying to catch all the possible mistakes he could have done, all the awful things that could have hurt his young captain without him noticing. 

But the more thought he gave the whole ordeal, the more he realized he was the oblivious one, not his captain. Thinking back to his trip to Whole Cake Island, the things Luffy had said and done for him were almost hard to believe. They were actions that no captain would ever go through for just one member of the crew, and yet he had brushed it off as his captain being the best there was. But it wasn’t all his fault, in his opinión the black haired man was like that for the whole crew: he would go to hell and back for them without much thought.

Still, Luffy had said some pretty ground breaking things when on his mission to retrieve Sanji. Stuff like he couldn’t be the Pirate King without him. At that the man began to sweat profusely. He couldn’t believe his captain had said something like that. Then, there was this thing of not eating anything not made by him, and him eating some ruined lunch for Pudding. He had looked blissful while eating it. 

Maybe he was thinking too much into it and the whole experience in Whole Cake Island wasn’t proof of his feelings, maybe that was something he would do for any of his friends. He had fought pirates stronger than the crew for Nami, he had gone to Marine territory for Robin, and he was sure he had tried to get him back because that was the way he was. But the things he had said were ones he never heard before being spoken to anyone in the crew…

He really needed to stop thinking!

Yet he couldn’t. All the times Luffy had said how much he liked his food, every time he had made jokes with him, all the times he had tried to sneak around for a portion of food that Sanji wouldn’t give him, all the fights against stronger opponents, all those times came like the flood to the blond man and if he thought he wouldn’t be able to sleep, then he was rigth.

……………………………..

After a sleepless night he woke up earlier than usual to prepare breakfast. When he got up from his bed he noticed something though: Luffy wasn’t in his bed either.

Worried sick about his captain he headed to look for him in the ship. It didn’t take him long since the guy was at his favorite spot. Without apparent reason he became really mad at the captain. It was probably because he needed to get the food ready and the younger one was delaying him from doing it. So he was about to scold him when he remembered all that had happened the day before.

He stayed silent while looking at him, he just didn’t know what to say. Eventually Luffy adressed him after remaining quiet; it was obvious he had stayed that way out of choice since with his observation Haki he more than knew who it was.

“Good morning, Sanji” He said almost the same way he did all mornings. Almost.

“What are you doing here so early?” He cut fastly. “If you fall down to the ocean while we are sleeping no one will come to rescue you” He scolded, yet he didn’t mean to.

Luffy pouted. That was some known territory for him and he felt good for it.

“I couldn’t sleep anymore. I was hungry” He said while rubbing his stomach.

“You know that I won’t give you anything, right?” The blonde stated through the usual scowl that came when this topic was discussed.

“I know, I know” Luffy said with a playful tone more charactheristic of him. 

That made Sanji smile a little. It only had been one weird day and he already missed his captain.

Some moments passed and the older man wasn’t sure what to do. He wanted to speak to Luffy about his feelings, but at the same time he wanted nothing more than them being their common selves. He decided for the first option.

“Luffy, why do you think you like me?” He said the best way he could. He made sure he used the word “think” before “like” since he sincerely wanted to be completely sure.

“I don’t know. Maybe it’s because you get to my heart through your food” He laughed like in the good times. 

Sanji felt his face grow hot. How could be his captain be so shameless!

“T-that’s not a reason! Think harder!” He stuttered. 

“Well you have always been by my side, and always took care of me” He said thoughtfully.

Before Sanji could say anything though, he exclaimed what one would consider to be the cherry of the pie. “I think I started loving you since you became my cook” He said confidently through a huge smile, plastered all over his face. 

Sanji felt the heat from his face run all over his body. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. His captain had lik…no, loved him since about two -three years ago. 

His face must have been a really ugly one because that was the statement Luffy did when pointing it out. And since the man loved him it was probably true.

He tried to collect himself by saying, “Why didn’t you tell me before?” He then continued, “You had so many chances” He wanted to take that back. “What I’m trying to say is that we have spent almost three years together, but you didn’t tell me anything” He was really intrigued.

To this the black haired man said, “Don’t know, maybe I was scared” with a shrug. But it was obvious the seriousness of the sentence and the hurt that was implied through the words.

It made Sanji feel so many things this whole lot of information. Sadness, pity, guilt but also pride were the most relevant ones. But the most odd one was pride. Why would he feel pride, when the other was suffering for him? Was he that screwed up in the head?

Against his better jugdment to leave the younger one alone, he decided to cook him some pre-breakfast.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sanji messes up big time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was both fun and sad to write. Hope you guys like it!

When the rest of the crew got up for breakfast they found both Sanji and Luffy in the kitchen. Most of them were impressed by the situation. Usopp, being naturally one to say the first thing that came into his mouth, said that he was happy that Luffy’s love for the blonde was finally over so they would remain friends forever. Nami hitted him hard in the head. 

Zoro on the other hand fixed him with a hard stare, just like the day before. It continued while the rest of the crew was peacfully having their food since they had stopped being so worried about Luffy, given the fact that he was definitely better than yesterday. 

Sanji was growing tired of the whole “I’ll kill ya with my eyes” thing Zoro was doing, so he simply stated, “Would you stop staring at me?”   
Zoro not being one to keep his mouth shut when it came to Sanji said harshly, “I’m not staring at you, I’m staring at a piece of shit”

The blond man was now mad. 

“What did you say?” He said through gritted teeth.

“You heard me, eyebrows”

They both stood up from their seats and started to get ready for a fight that was sure to come.

Jimbe, Franky and Brook were trying to prevent the fight but it was futile with those two. 

The first punch came from Sanji and it conected with Zoro’s left cheek. The first kick was made by Zoro and it pushed hard on his shin. The fight continued on and on and it didn’t seem to stop any time soon. The only one able to put an end to it was Luffy, but he never interfered with the fights the two always had. However, the dispute they were having was more serious than the previous ones and the crew knew.

Not content enough with the sharp kicks and punches, they started fighting with words. 

“Say I’m no piece of shit” Exclaimed Sanji with all the force he could muster.

“I can’t say that to a piece of shit” Said Zoro smugly.

“What are you so mad about anyways” Sanji was so mad he had stopped thinking altogether, he only wanted to hurt the green haired man.

“You mad Luffy likes me and not you?” 

The whole room gasped at his choice of words. He knew in that moment he had messed up big time. He instantly looked at Luffy, completely forgetting about Zoro. What he saw made him misarable: his captain was like a deer caught in the red lights.

He then made his way over to Luffy to apoligize properly but then a hand stopped him. He thought it was Nami or Robin but when he felt a fist conect with his face and the pain that shot through him he was sure it was actually Zoro stopping him.

His head hurt so much but he didn’t want to give in to the pain. He had fallen to the floor and his nose was bleeding. Nami came to aid him. He stood up with Nami’s help and saw that Zoro was more than ready to give it another go. But he didn’t care. He only had eyes for his captain. He was so sorry he had said something about his feelings in a stupid fight. How could he be so dumb?

He looked at Luffy and saw how sadness laced his eyes. He went his way anyways, even with the protests of the green haired man. 

Luffy now seemed more mad than sad, and somehow that made the blonde more relieved. He spoke in a soft tone. “I’m really sorry, Captain. I didn’t mean a word I said” He bowed his head low to show him how sincere he was. 

Luffy sighed and said coolly that it was okay. Then he told them both Sanji and Zoro to stop the fight. He then left the kitchen and no one made a move to follow him; it was crystal clear he wanted to be alone.

Sanji turned around to see how Zoro was holding up since the fight was over. The man stood there with his arms crossed over his chest and with an unidentifiable face. He didn’t want to apologize to this ass but he knew he should, yet he couldn’t find it in himself to do it. 

The rest of the crew gathered to move outside the kitchen. Only Nami and Jimbe remained in their spots. Shortly after, it was just the three of them. Nami looked like she wanted to say something but wasn’t sure of and Jimbe looked absolutely mad. Not to the level Zoro had been, but there was angriness in his eyes. 

Ever since the death of Luffy’s big brother Ace, Jimbe had taken care of the young captain the best way he could, protecting him from any danger he might face, and to him now, Sanji was a hazard in the black haired man’s life.   
He spoke to the blond man with a warning in his voice.

“I hope this doesn’t repeat. I don’t want to put it this way, but if anyone ever hurts Luffy they will face my wrath” Jimbe said sternly.

Sanji looked him in the eyes to show him how this would never reoccur.

“I swear on my father’s life that I will never hurt Luffy” By father he meant Zeff of course, and he was sure the rest understood.

Then Jimbe left quickly and only Nami stayed behind. She helped him to put some ice in his nose. It had stopped bleeding since it wasn’t profuse but it still hurt. When his nose stopped hurting so much, Nami took the chance and hitted him hard on the head. He asked why, completely torn. She answered that he deserved it for being so tactless. 

He couldn’t deny that. He had been so obtuse, so filled with rage that he had used something to truly hurt Zoro if he was right about him liking Luffy and exposing his feelings, and in the way had also hurt Luffy by doing so.

When things had settled down he told Nami that he was right about Zoro being in love with Luffy and that he had ruined what little friendship he had with him. To this, Nami said that she wasn’t so sure about Zoro, but that she was happy he actually considered him his friend.

Then he spoke of how dejected he felt for hurting Luffy one way or another. The red head simply stated that today he had really screwed up, but that when Luffy had confessed his feelings he had been nice enough. So he shouldn’t berate himself for it.

It made him feel a little bit better but he still thought that his captain deserved so much better.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sanji finally gets to talk to women!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like this chapter isn't as interesting without the second part but it would have been too long putting them together.

The next day found Luffy coming in earlier than the usual time for breakfast. For once Sanji was happy to se him in his kitchen so early and maybe ready to speak to him. The black haired man didn’t seem as upset as yesterday, actually he looked quite good in Sanji’s opinion.  


The young captain asked for food and the older man complied. It was the minimum he could do for treating him the way he had the other day.

He began preparing some meat and eggs as pre-breakfast. Luffy looked at him intenly. It was a little nerve wrecking. But instead of saying something against it he continued cooking.

While Sanji was making him food, Luffy started humming a song Brook had taught him one day. It was one about love, the blond man knew that much but decided not to mention it. Just how much did Luffy feel for him? He wondered in his sleepless night. It bugged him to no end. There were so many questions he wanted to ask, but he was afraid he would come as intrusive, or worse: seem interested in something he couldn’t give Luffy. He hoped his crush on him would stop eventually and he would fall for someone like Zoro. 

He knew they had a special relationship, so why not take it to next level and be together as they should?

He then decided against his better judgment to ask him directly the question he had been wondering the most.

“Hey Luffy, you know that Zoro likes you, so why not fall for him?” He tried to sound as nice as he could. He didn’t want to make it seem as if he wanted some burden out of him.

“No, he doesn’t” He started to laugh like he usually did and while he was happy about it, he felt very confused.

“How are you so sure?” 

“Because it’s obvious he likes someone else” He said nonchalantly.

“Then who is this person we are talking about?” The blonde asked filled with curiosity.

“It’s not my place to tell” Luffy said simply.

“Then why is he so mad at me?” 

“Because he thinks I’m wasting my time with you” Pain could be seen in his face. 

“I think the same way then, Luffy. I like women, not men” He said apologetically.

“I know. But I can’t help feeling this way” He said with a blush in his face and some sort of hope in his eyes.

Sanji gulped. He wanted this conversation to stop. Knowing more about Luffy's feelings seemed as entering a dragon’s nest.

Thank goodness the crew crossed the door at that moment. He wasn’t sure what he could have done with a hopeful Luffy. It saddened him too much.

He was ready with the breakfast and Luffy had already eaten his food by that time, so when the rest of the crew came in and thankfully said nothing about their captain being once again in the kitchen with Sanji, he was really glad. They seemed to be genuinely happy for once at seeing the young man more at peace. After what had transcurred yesterday everyone thought they would be at odds, but since that wasn’t the case they were really contented. 

Then all of them got out to do their daily activities, but before anyone could get to it, Nami said that she could finally see the island they were heading into. She stated that in a few hours they would get there, maximum two hours.

When they arrived they were completely astonished by what they saw: A beautiful island filled with trees, a beach that could cover the whole island and birds of all sorts. There were few people and each one of them seemed to be having a great time. Sanji looked around and, in that instant, he knew he had found Paradise. The whole beach and port was filled with pretty women and he couldn’t be any more happy. The problems that had piled up since Luffy had confessed seemed to disappear.

He got out of the ship the fastest of the crew and quickly made way for the beautiful women that adorned the coast. To say he was blissful was an understament. He had almost forgotten how a woman looked, and his only source had been Nami and Robin.

He introduced himself to a group of girls that were playing volleyball among each other. The ladies smiled at him and for him it was his cue to start giving them all kind of compliments. They laughed good naturedly and seemed to enjoy his presence. But all of it was cutted short when Zoro approached them with the worst face he could make and scared the girls, who now wanted to leave the place. 

At this Sanji got really mad and asked why the hell he had scared the girls. The green haired man looked surprised and said sincerely that it wasn’t his intention. Sanji was skeptical at first but seeing the other man with a face of confusion was proof enough that he wasn’t lying.

Then Zoro reminded him that they needed him to shop the groceries for the next island and that he had two hours to do so. He did so but it took him half an hour more than was scheduled. When he finished he began to wonder why there haven’t been any adventures in this island as there normally would. Without giving it much thought and being kind of happy that no dissarter had come their way he headed to the ship.

What he found at the Sunny was an image to behold. The entire crew was frantic about something but he didn’t know what. He asked Chopper who was the closest to him what was going on and the reindeer practically screamed that Luffy had disappeared.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luffy is found.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the second part of last chapter!

Now he understood their whole predicament. Their captain had gone to roam around the island. As accorded, they were supposed to meet in the ship after two hours, but he hadn’t appeared in half an hour later than what they had agreed on. They first thought that Luffy was with Sanji but after seeing that he was alone the nervousness they had felt as if on instic had scaleted fast.

He was anxious too. In what kind of problem was his captain? While he knew that he fought like no other man, there was a sensation that he was in trouble somewhere. They had to find him and quickly. 

The crew decided on dividing groups to go look after Luffy. Jimbe would go with Brook to the east side. Chopper would go with Franky to the west. Sanji would go with Robin to the south. And Zoro would stay in the ship with Nami and Usopp in case he was able to get to the Sunny on his own, which was in the north of the island. Zoro was kept on the ship for obvious reasons and Usopp was just afraid as always. They accorded on two hours top to be back on the ship.

Both Sanji and Robin were heading to the south when she decided to speak. “You look really worried, Sanji” It was a stament, not a question.

“You aren’t?” Responded the man.

“Of course I am. It’s just that my intiution tells me that maybe he is in danger now but it will pass”

Sanji looked thoughful. He always believed what Robin had to say since she usually was right.

The woman continued, “If I’m being honest with you, I was almost sure that our dear captain felt that way for you” She said through a smile.

He was taken aback. Why would she bring that topic when they were headed to find their captain? He got kind of mad. Maybe she could have warned him of Luffy’s feelings so he could get away before he had the courage to act on them. Then the angriness he was feeling transformed into guilt since it was low to blame the woman about his own problems.

Meanwhile, the deeper they got into the forest, the more he got nervous. There was something unnerving about the place. The plants just simply had too much color and so did the animals they caught a glimpse of. He could tell that Robin was feeling the same way.

Finally after one hour and a half, they arrived at a stream and a waterfall. It didn’t take them too long to notice that their captain was unconscious close to the water. They ran fastly to his side and wondered if he had maybe fallen to the water, but that didn’t seem to be the case since he would be at the bottom of the stream by now. 

They kept trying to wake him up but it was impossible. The situation was getting out of hand. He wished they had brought Chopper to help them. They tried shaking him but to no avail. Sanji at one point shook him so hard that something fell out his pocket: it was a blue mushroom with green dots and a bite. He now was sure of what had happened. He recognised the mushroom so he told Robin in a desperate way that they had to run as fast as they could to get him to the infirmary.

They ran and ran until their legs almost gave up. They got in about half an hour to the Sunny. Usopp was the first to see them approaching the ship. He screamed at Nami and Zoro that they had found Luffy but he seemed sick. Both of them got quickly to their side. Nami asked what was going on, but Sanji beat her to it and asked between deep breaths where was Chopper. That he was needed with urgency, that this was life or death for their captain.

It took Chopper and Franky fifteen minutes later to get to the ship. When he saw the situation and was rapidly informed by Sanji of the mushroom, he understood that he had to act fast or his captain would never wake up again.

He proceeded to measure Luffy´s vitals; they were low and they kept decreasing as time went on. Then he made the eventual cure for the poison the mushroon was sure to have inside. It took him five minutes to get it ready. He injected Luffy with a syringe that contained the cure. He also tried to stabilize the captain the best he could; he put some serums through an IV and covered him with a blanket since he was as cold as ice. He was pale too but when he received the cure he started to get color to his face. His vitals were getting better as time passed by. 

It took one entire hour for Luffy to wake up, meanwhile the whole crew paced around the ship in clear demonstration of nervousness. When they realized that he was finally awake by notice of Chopper, who had stayed with the black haired man the whole time, they all sighed as a sign of relief. 

Each one of them wanted to know why he had gone that far into the island and why he had eaten the damn mushroom since it was obvious it was poisonous. Because Chopper was the first to see him awake, he was the one that asked the questions and explained what had happened. For the former nothing came out of Luffy’s mouth, but for the second one he stated that it looked delicious and it was to be honest. 

All of them looked pissed but the feeling of comfort of knowing that their captain was okay took over. Even if it was the case most of them were worried about him not wanting to tell them why he was that deep into the forest. In a normal day he would have said it was because he wanted an adventure, but now he had remained silent according to Chopper.

None of them knew how to get him to talk, so the most obvious solution to the problem was to make Sanji talk to him. Of course it was a bad idea, but Nami had insisted on it, while both Zoro and Jimbe were totally opposite to it. 

Sanji was fidgety but decided to go talk to him anyways. When he entered the room Luffy was in, he found him resting on his bed pleasantly; he was almost asleep as he could see. He came near him and spoke in a hushed and calm tone as to not scare him since he was so peaceful. 

Luffy got up a little to address Sanji and then turned his face to the side, as if guilty. The older man grew preoccupied by this and took the determination to talk properly to his captain. “What happened out there?” 

“Nothing, the mushroom just looked so good” Said Luffy, but it was obvious he was hiding something.

“I don’t mean that. I’m trying to understand why you would go alone into the forest” He said sternly “And don’t tell me it was for an adventure. I know that wasn’t the case”

Luffy took a deep breath and looked straight into Sanji’s eyes. “I just didn’t want to see you with some girls” He could swear he saw pure sadness in those eyes. But angriness took over him quickly.

“So you’re telling me you did all this because you were jealous?” He was so mad at the moment.

“I just didn’t want to be close to those girls, that’s all” He said “If I would have known the mushroom was poisonous, I wouldn’t have eaten it. I’m not that stupid, Sanji” He looked so apologetic.

Sanji knew he was screwed since he had properly apologized. But more than anything, it surprised him how head over heels Luffy seemed to be for him. It kind of made the air pressure increase. He had to do something and fast. The situation was getting out of hand; he had already fought with two members of the crew and now the captain was going elsewhere because he was jealous.

“This has to stop. I understand your feelings, but they can’t get the better of you” He stopped to take a breath and continued, “I will always be that way around women, Luffy” 

He saw something shatter inside Luffy, but he had to know that as Zoro had said he was just losing time falling for a guy like him. He deserved someone who would love him back with their whole soul, not some man that liked to flirt with the first woman that came into view. 

So with those words being spoken, Sanji left the room and Luffy alone.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luffy's in a bad shape and Sanji makes some decisions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe we are the 8th chapter! This one may be more comforting than the rest.

After being three days in the island for Luffy to recover himself, they departed from the dangerous territory. Sanji couldn’t say he had been bored while being on the island: he had hooked up with some pretty girl and it had been fantastic. Still, some part of him felt incredibly guilty. He knew he had to make things clear with the captain, but a good side of his mind thought that him having a good time while the other man was suffering was a betrayal. He tried his best to put those thoughts aside.

Something serious was going on with the captain and everyone noticed. It was like he was out of reach, all of them –minus Sanji- tried their best to approach him but it was to no avail. He would not speak and he always left food on his plate. After being poisoned, the crew thought that it was because he hadn’t recovered well enough but the more time passed and the more Chopper reassured them that it wasn’t the case, more obvious the reason for him to be so upset.

He was lovesick.

Of course no one took it on Sanji since it would be childish, but since childish was a word that was a synonymous for Zoro, it was crystal clear he blamed him for it. He wouldn’t talk to him at all, and when he had found out that he had hooked up with some woman, he had been so mad he had gotten ready to fight. 

The same couldn’t be said for Jimbe. The fishman was simply worried sick of Luffy’s behavior. He couldn’t understand how the man that always claimed that would become the Pirate King was so down over a rejection. Maybe his love was so strong he couldn’t give up on it, or maybe it was too soon.

But one thing he was sure of, and it was that Zoro and Jimbe had something in common: they both thought it was a bad idea to keep Sanji so close to Luffy. It would only agraviate Luffy’s state. He suspected they wanted him out of the crew since he would jeopardize the young captain’s dream of becoming the Pirate King.

He knew he was putting in danger his dream, but it wasn’t his fault. Though again the part of him that felt guilty was tormenting him by saying that he should leave before he hurt him more or worse, that he would fall in love with the captain and he would still compromise his dream by distracting him, even if that was exactly what was happening. 

He had wanted so badly to go back to the Sunny when he was trapped in Whole Cake Island and now he was beginning to feel more out of place. The only ones he could fully trust were Nami and Robin. He had told them the way he was feeling and that probably he would leave in the next island they had to get. 

Both were surprised and tried to talk some sense into him, that he had tried so hard to get back, that this was his home too, that Luffy wouldn’t be able to endure it. But the more he thought about it, the more his mind was made up on doing it. He just couldn’t endanger his captain’s dream over a crush.

So when the day came that they had to get to next island, Nami was beyond worried. Robin was simply sad. 

He had decided on leaving in the night they arrived. He had all of his stuff ready to go. He didn’t know where he would go or what would become of his life. He also had a dream, even if some people seemed to forget it. He thought bitterly that maybe he just wasn’t made for finding the One Piece and All Blue. 

When night fell, around 0:00, he stood up from his hammock and made way to the ramp of the ship. He was a few meters ahead of the Sunny when he heard a noise coming from the ship: it was Luffy screaming at the top of his lungs for him to come back. The man seemed completely annoyed.

He then ran over to Sanji who was perplexed and wasn’t able to move. When he reached him, he stood up firm and crossed his arms over his chest, full of the confidence that had disappeared the days before Sanji’s attempt of leaving. 

“Who gave you permission to leave the crew?” He said seriously.

“Who told you about this?” The blond one said annoyed.

“That doesn’t matter”

“It was Nami” He was sure of it.

“You can’t just leave. This is your home” Luffy said.

“I can’t keep distracting you from your dream. I can’t keep hurting you” Said Sanji being totally honest. He hoped that with those words Luffy would go back to the Sunny.

“I don’t care about that. You’re my cook, and that’s all that matters here” Said the black haired one stubbornly. 

“You don’t understand. You are not the same when I’m with you”

“You’re the next Pirate King’s cook. Love or not, your position can’t be filled by anyone” He continued, “You are important to this crew, Sanji. I can’t imagine a life where you don’t cook for me” 

“Luffy…”Said the blonde, moved by the words of his captain.

“I have told you before, but without you I can’t become the Pirate King” Sanji could feel that he was laying out all he had to say.

The older man didn’t know what to do. The big and irrational part of him just wanted to go back to the ship with his captain. But the rational side told him that it wasn’t a good idea, that he would keep hurting Luffy. He kept quiet for a moment.

To this Luffy took advantage and said the next lines, as if reading Sanji’s mind. “I don’t care if you hurt me, I just want you to be by my side be it as friends or captain to crewmate”.

If Sanji wasn’t sure of his decision now he was. 

“Okay” 

Besides everything that happened, these were the easiest words he had ever said.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sanji asks Zoro some questions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this chapter is shorter than the rest but I had a good time writing it, so I hope you guys enjoy it!

The morning that came after everything that had transcurred the night before was a peaceful one. Luffy seemed to be back to his usual self and Sanji couldn’t be more happy. For one he had been assured by his captain, the next Pirate King, that he was indeed needed in the crew, that he wasn’t some bother for anyone, especially not for him. 

Now that he knew all of that, he felt at ease to be in the crew, despite whatever feelings the captain held for him. 

Since he was in a good mood he began making the breakfast as nice as he could; he used the best ingredients even for the males of the crew. When the pirates entered the kitchen they were greeted by a splendid frangance and food that far exceeded the ones they normally had. 

Sanji was asked why he had prepared such a banquet but he only said that it was a pretty day and should be celebrated with good food. It seemed it was enough of an answer because the whole crew ate eagerly. 

They also noticed, just as Sanji had done before, that Luffy was in high spirits and looked like the man they knew. To say that Jimbe was relieved was an understament. Nami and Robin were really happy, and so was the rest. Zoro’s eyes shone in a special way, like the sun had finally decided to appear after a rainy day. 

Things like that made Sanji think that the moss head was definitely in love with the captain. And just like before he felt weird about it. It was like he was interfering in something sacred that should happen but because of him it was impossible. He then resolved that he was going to ask him directly. No matter the answer, he needed to know.

When the plates were cleared, he got everyone out of the kitchen, except for the green haired man. He didn’t want to stay, but Sanji quickly said that he needed help cleaning the dishes. Of course Zoro whined, but the blonde said that he was always the one that helped the least with the chores, so Zoro reluctantly accepted.

Sanji started handing him the cleanest dishes so they wouldn’t get stained by the dirtiest ones. He then gave him soap while he rearranged some spices in the buffet. Once he was finished, he gave him the dirty plates which belonged to Luffy, Franky, Usopp and Chopper. Zoro gave them a nasty look.

Since Sanji knew that he didn’t have much time left to talk, because they hadn’t spoken at all the entire period they were together. He took a deep breath and began with what he wanted to say, “Say Zoro, are you by any chance in love with Luffy?” He came to the point quickly.

Zoro just fixed him with a confused stare. He didn’t seem nervous, more disconcerted than anything. “No” He stated coolly, as if the conversation would burn him.

“Then why are you so worried about him? Or why you look at him the way you do?” He said rather impatiently.

“Because he is my captain. Also, I don’t look at him in any special way” He was getting angry, Sanji could tell. “I only look at him the way one admires a man” He continued.

Sanji hummed and finally got the answers he wanted. He was indeed confused by them, but there was a strange feeling of calmness inside him that he didn’t know how to explain. 

When they were finished Zoro started to head out to the door, but before he could do it, he stopped and turned around with a smug in his face. 

“Say Sanji, are you by any chance jealous of me?” He gave the blond man a huge sarcastic smile and left. 

Sanji was beyond bewildered.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sanji just needs to know...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe we are at chapter 10! As always, I hope you guys enjoy it :)

The weeks that passed by were filled with their normal adventures: to escaping from the marines, to fighting opponents stronger than them, to saving princesses from various tirans, and to getting closer to the One Piece…

They had escaped from the fangs of Big Mom before they managed to defeat Kaido someway they still couldn’t figure out. Of course they had tons of help: the minks, Marco the phoenix, the ninjas and samurais from Wano and Traffy as the crew liked to call Trafalgar Law. 

Their bounties had scaleted so much it was hard to grasp. Now they had to run not only from the Marines, but from pirate crews that wanted to have credit for taking down the Mugiwara kaizoku. 

Each day that came was fun or tiring. If Sanji were to recall, the days were quieter when Luffy had first conffesed his love for him, and after the whole thing with him trying to leave the crew, the time went passing by at a fast pace. Almost as it would never stop.

He could say for sure he didn’t miss those days. They were filled with sadness, confusion and a general bad mood in the air, as if the days were cloudy when in true they weren’t. 

Seeing his captain back to normal and fighting for his dream was something he was glad to witness. In one way or another it was like watching the sun rise up. 

But there was one thing bugging him: had Luffy already forgotten about him? It was weird to think it but he still wondered, did his captain move on from his crush or was he still in love with him but holding on? Even without meaning to, the thought made him restless. He knew it was simply out of curiosity, though some part of him told him that he was being egocentric and that the love the black haired one held for him somehow made him feel like a better man. The last idea always made his heart race in a strange way, like that was a forbidden ground he should not trespass. 

He wondered if Nami knew about it.

………………………….

That day, unlike most of the ones they had had, the Sunny was a quiet place and everyone was doing their own thing. So Sanji took advantage of this and when he saw Nami approaching the kitchen, he ushered her inside.

She was surprised but didn’t say anything. Instead she waited for the blonde to start talking. She defenitely didn’t expect what the older man would say.

“I know I shouldn’t ask this, but…” He waited a little to gather his thoughts “Is Luffy still in love with me?”

When he saw Nami’s face he felt so stupid by asking that question. She even chuckled. When she regained compusture she fixed him with a strange look in her eyes; one he couldn’t understand.

“Why are you asking me? Why don’t you ask Luffy instead?” She said calmly. Then she continued “I’m just kidding with the last part, you shouldn’t ask him at all”

“I know, that’s why I’m asking you” He said while feeling like an idiot.

“Then tell me why you want to know” She said coolly.

He was at a loss of words. He didn’t know what to say.

“I don’t know…I just want to know how he is really doing” He tried his best to connect his thoughts with his words.

“I’m not so sure but I would say he still has feelings for you” 

When she said those words, something heavy lifted from Sanji’s chest. He didn’t know why it felt like a victory of some sort.

His face must have revealed how he felt because Nami gave him a huge smile. “Oh, aren’t we happy” She teased him. His face grew hot.

“It’s not like that!” He said in a hurry “Like I said before, I just wanted to know if he was doing okay!” 

But Nami wasn’t having any of it.

“Then you should have asked how he was doing in the first place, not if he still was in love with you” She teased once again “I know it’s hard to accept but maybe you aren’t as straight as you thought”

At this Sanji’s face grew pale. The red head knew she had messed up, so she swiftly said something to calm down the blonde.

“Hey, I was just joking. Don’t take me seriously” 

Sanji put his head down in an attempt to relax.

“I know you were joking. Don’t worry” He said through a fake smile.

He then explained to Nami that he had to cook things for later and with that the red head left. 

He was in a state where he was both happy and scared. Happy? He didn’t know why. Scared? Scared because the simple thought that he liked men frightened him. He liking men was almost as the world would end. 

He only knew that Luffy better be over his crush because somehow it was slowly killing him.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peace?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter gives hints, even if small ones, about what's going to happen in the next chapters :)

A few months had passed and Sanji was beyond happy: he had hooked up with some beautiful woman in an island they didn’t have to enter but did so anyways to get some supplies. The experience had been wonderful; she was so pretty he could hardly believe his eyes. Yet there was something bothering him: this time the whole crew found out about his romance. 

Normally it would pass by and no one would find out, except maybe Robin and Zoro, they both knew him too well to cover it.

At first it had been fun because most of the males were kind of proud for his conquest. But then it occurred to him that not only the crew had found out about this, it was completely possible his captain also knew. He had seen how his captain had gotten the times he flirted, but this time around was different; he had actually hooked up with someone. He had no idea how his captain could react and it worried him sick.

Once again he asked Nami how he was doing, but she only said that she wasn’t sure.

It was driving him crazy. The guilt that crept up his skin was unbearable and he knew he couldn’t just go and ask Luffy if he had found out of his fling. He felt left with no option so, desperate as he was, he went to the only source of information he could get: Zoro.

It was a bad idea from the get go but he was hopeless. 

He soon tried to approach him, but the green haired man noticed and started to avoid him. He then knew he had to be direct with him and tell him exactly what was going on.

When he finally was able to talk with the guy he told him things as they were; his worries of Luffy finding out about his romance, if he was doing alright and the like.

Zoro was annoyed, he could tell but he still answered, “Yes, he did find out. But he’s doing okay” He then continued “You would know if you actually spent time with him” He scolded.

Those words vibrated through Sanji. It was true he didn’t spend that much time with Luffy since his confession. And while he sometimes went to get food from the blonde, ever since Sanji had tried to leave the crew, he only went to the kitchen when there were other people or on the scheduled hours.

It was like they never interacted anymore and even if Sanji wanted to deny it, it was hurting him. It truly did. But he didn’t want to tell Zoro that. It was one of his most concealed secrets as of now. 

Knowing that Luffy was doing okay was enough for the time being, though he did want to spend more time with his captain. He missed the times he would have to scold him for stealing food or eating more than he should. 

With that knowledge he left the green haired man to continue with his activities. 

The first weeks that had passed since the whole situation he had with Luffy had been tiring but he felt as he could still reach out to him. Even in the times where both of them were angry. He first began feeling his captain was unapproachable when he talked with Nami if Luffy was still in love with him; he could have gone to him but he simply didn’t because since that time they were kind of disconnected.

Now he really missed him, but how could he go and tell him that when he didn’t want to mislead him into thinking he had a chance. From what he gathered of his conversation with Zoro, Luffy still held feelings for him, but now seemed to be okay with him flirting with girls. Maybe his crush was slowly ending...Sanji wanted nothing more than that, so he could go back to the old times. 

But whenever he thought that the crush Luffy had for him had passed, he would always feel restless, like out of air. He had a vague idea as to why but he never went too far in that direction.

He continued to think about his options to get Luffy to be as close as they used to be; even when he kicked him out of the kitchen was something dear to him. Maybe before all that had happened he felt as he and the captain weren’t that close but now he realized just how much it meant for both parts their weird but fond interactions.

He couldn’t stand it anymore so he decided that he would approach him by giving him food. A special meal he would say if asked, but for now that would be his plan of action.

…………………………….

It was easier said than done though. He didn’t have the guts to do it. When flirting with girls it was so easy; when fighting people who were much stronger than him he never felt fear but now he was so afraid.

He always had a tray with food ready for him, but he gave up so easily that Usopp and Chopper got most of the treats and were getting fat because of it. Luffy never got close enough to claim the food like he would have done in the past. But who could blame him really.

One day of trying and failing, Usopp had come close to him and in a hushed tone he spoke to him, “I can help you if you want” He said with determined eyes to Sanji.

The older man was stunned. Had he been that obvious that even Usopp noticed?

“What are you talking about?” Sanji said trying to play the fool.

“I know you want to give these to Luffy, not us” He said with a shrug.

At first Sanji wanted to deny all of it, but he just wasn’t able and knew that he needed help. “Okay. It’s true, but how can you help me?”

Usopp simply smiled at him before he screamed at the top of his lungs.

“LUFFY, SANJI WANTS TO GIVE YOU FOOD!” 

To say the blonde was mortified was little show to how he felt.

Luffy looked up to address them while he was fishing. He gave them both a huge smile and leapt the whole way to where they were. He looked so happy that Sanji felt as his heart beated out of rhythm. He felt breathless. Just like he had said one time, seeing Luffy being his usual self was like watching a sunrise. 

When Luffy finally got to their spot in the ship, he approached slowly, as if this was a mirage and Sanji would disappear with the food. He then apparently put his fears behind and asked if these were really for him. To this, Sanji tried his best to look as amicable as he could when speaking to him, so he said a simple yes with a smile that reached his eyes.

Luffy looked at him with a huge smile and took the first part of the meal carefully, then after a few bites he started being the one everyone knew and began eating like there was no tomorrow. Sanji let out a laugh. He felt like ruffling the younger one’s hair. He didn’t know what possessed him but before he could think better, he did exactly as his instics had told him: he ruffled Luffy’s hair. The brunette was with his mouth hanging open, with food still visible.

Sanji didn’t know where to hide. He wanted to open the ground and be put there. What had he done? He saw how Usopp was too: mouth wide open and eyes out of their sockets. 

He was beginning to feel nauseous, but then he stopped. He wanted to make things clear, to make things finally right so he took a deep breath and said.

“I’m sorry, Luffy. I didn’t want to interrupt your meal time” He stated with ease and a reassuring smile. 

Luffy seemed to relax at this and then things got back to normal. Once the captain was done with his food he thanked Sanji and asked him for more treats the next days. The blond man was more than happy to oblige.

When Sanji was done serving him food and chit chatting with him, he headed to the kitched with a smile plastered all over his face. He was glad things had gotten better for the time being and only one thought occupied his mind: Luffy’s hair was incredibly soft.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luffy messes up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter hurt me more than what you would believe, but the next one will be...better

“I’m glad you made up with Luffy” 

Sanji was in the kitchen cooking dinner when Nami appeared at the door. One week had passed since he had patched up with Luffy. It was weird for the older man that the red head hadn’t come to talk before, but he thought that maybe she was waiting to see if it would last. Things between them had been at odds for some time so how it would go now was unpredictable. 

“Yeah, I’m glad too” The blonde gave her a small smile.

“You look so much better than those past months” Nami said thoughtful.

At this Sanji was puzzled. While he was indeed worried for his relationship with his captain, it never occurred to him that he would seem to be in a bad shape or anything like that. He decided that Nami was exaggerating.

“I just feel happy. I wasn’t dying, Nami”

“Nah, you were feeling like shit” She said through a laugh.

Sometimes Sanji forgot that they were pirates. It didn’t stop him from scolding Nami though. “A refined lady like you shouldn’t speak that way!”

The younger woman chuckled again.

“It’s true though, you look so much like the Sanji we were used to see” She said with a smile. She continued, “We are all happy that things have returned to normal”

The blonde was joyful the crew was pleased to see them go back to their old selves. But he being his usual way, couldn’t help but to try and flirt with Nami. She was just being so lovely-she always was though- to him, he just had to blurt the first thing that came to his mind.

“Could it be that my sweet Nami is finally accepting her feelings for me?” He said mischievously- and stupidly.  
If the slap he received on his left cheek was an indicator, Nami wasn’t happy with what he had said, far from it actually.

“Are you an idiot?” 

She was ready to leave when they noticed someone at the door.

It was just Sanji’s luck that it had to be Luffy. 

How much had he seen or heard was beyond the older man, but the young captain looked sad. Of course he had to watch the whole exchange.

“Luffy, he was just being stupid” Said Nami quickly.

The captain tried to smile but it came more as a grimace. “It’s okay. Sanji can do whatever he wants” Then he left the place with a bang.

Nami watched him as the worst scum there was on earth.

“Why do you have to always ruin things with him?” 

She was so disappointed.

……………………………….

Dinner was uneventful, even if Nami was still mad at him. It was clear because she didn’t say anything to him besides some curt thanks for the food. If anyone noticed, they decided to keep quiet.

On the other hand, Luffy was being the usual: loud, brash and blunt as always. Sanji was at ease for this, but at the same time he was mad. He was this way because it couldn’t be that he all the time had to walk on eggshells around Luffy; there would come a day when he would meet a girl, fall in love and maybe marry her and he would do it even if it meant hurting the captain’s feelings.

He needed to make that clear, to make his point of view known to Luffy. So when the crew was leaving the kitchen to head to their bedrooms, he stopped Luffy. The whole crew seemed to be worried, but said nothing about it. 

The black haired man stopped as he had been told and when everyone was outside, Sanji started speaking, “I know you saw what happened with Nami, but we need to make things clear” He then continued, “One day I’m going to find a girl I really like and probably marry her, and there will be nothing that can stop me. Not even you, Luffy”

Luffy stared him right in the eyes. Sadness flickered through his eyes, but his compusture remained. 

“I know” 

There were no tears, no pleads, no anything, only determination.

“But these feelings won’t go away just because you tell me” 

Now Sanji was taken aback. He never meant that, he just wanted to say that even if Luffy felt that way for him, he would still live his life. He needed to make that be understood.

“I’m not telling you to stop liking me, all I’m saying is that despite those feelings, I will continue with my life”

He knew he was being harsh, but Luffy needed to realize how things were.

Luffy didn’t seem fazed or disturbed at all, only more resoluted.

“And that’s what I’m doing too; try to live my life without the obstacle that is loving you”

Sanji’s eyes were wide open now, a small gasp coming out of his lips. Since when had Luffy become so severe? Had he been always this way when it came to love things? Had his rejection somehow transformed him? The blond man was perplexed. 

With that Luffy left the kitchen swiftly, a hard demeanor in his stance. 

Meanwhile Sanji felt as if something had ripped him apart. Being told he was an obstacle was something his biological father would say, not his captain, never his captain. It was impossible. He felt like when he was at Whole Cake Island: surrounded by people that hated and depised him. This wasn’t his home anymore, how it could be when his own captain had said something like that to him.

He didn’t want to be on the Sunny anymore, he didn’t want to go the men’s bedroom and he absolutely didn’t want to see his captain.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sanji is confused

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope things get better for them...

The next day came fast and Sanji was more than ready to leave. He had wanted to do it the night everything had happened but he couldn’t prepare his things because everyone was sleeping. He also decided he couldn’t tell Nami or Robin of his plans; Luffy would find out rapidly.

So with those thoughts in mind, he made his way to the kitchen. He tried his best to look normal, especially to Luffy. It was proving to be difficult. He just couldn’t get the words Luffy had told him: he was an obstacle. A part of him understood why he had said those things. Luffy was meant to be the Pirate King and he couldn’t be wasting his time with unnecessary feelings, but he was so mad he wasn’t able to process that fact.

………………………..

The night had finally come; it was his cue to leave the Sunny and the crew for good. No one would be able to stop him; he had his mind made up. He would be sad for a while, but with time it would eventually go away.

When he had made sure everyone was sleeping, he made his way to the outside.

Before he could go to one of the boats built by Franky so that he could leave, he heard a noise behind him. When he was about to turn around, something pushed him, though not strong enough to fall down. He also felt someone press from behind and a pair of arms embrace him firmly. 

His observation haki was not needed, since he knew very well who it was. Of course he wanted it to be one of the girls to do something like this, but instead it was none other than his captain Luffy. 

He tried to escape from the strong grip but it was to no avail. He tried to kick or punch him but his arms were as if chained. He sighed and took deep breaths to calm himself. He was sure the other male wouldn’t be able to change his mind this time. He wouldn’t let him get away with he had said.

“Don’t leave, please…Please” Luffy was suplicatting. Sanji gulped, but his determination was firm.

“I’m so sorry” The blonde felt the younger one crying.

Sanji couldn’t help himself and, before he knew it, he was saying with the most spite he could muster, “I don’t care. You said I’m an obstacle to you, so I’m leaving to stop bothering you” 

“I know I said that, but I never meant it” He said between his cries “I was so mad” 

“And I don’t care. You still said it” Said Sanji “That’s something I would expect from Judge, but never from you, and yet…”

The older man felt something wet his cheek: he was actually crying. He knew he was sad but to that extent was too much in the male’s opinion.

Meanwhile he was absorted in his own thoughts, he felt the pair of arms finally loosening. He turned around and saw Luffy looking at him with eyes filled with despair and maybe hope. Hope that he would not go, that he would stay with him.  
The sight provoked something in him. To him Luffy looked in a strange way beautiful. He felt his heart skip a beat. He didn’t want to make the man who had helped him in his worst days sad, even if said man had hurt him. Something stirred in him and all the angriness he had, started to dissipate. And before he could think better, as most of the time lately, he said.

“You look so beautiful…” 

Luffy stopped crying and the face he had was one of complete surprise. 

“What …”

Sanji realized what he had said and quickly stated, “I mean, it’s okay. Don’t cry anymore” He sighed “I won’t leave”

To this Luffy looked more that relieved. He then hugged him strongly as if he were to let go, Sanji would disappear.

“I promise I will never say something like that again! You are not a burden. You are a source of strength to me. And if I were to lose you, I wouldn’t know what to do!” He exclaimed with everything he had.

In that moment Sanji’s heart was beating so fast he didn’t know what to do. He felt that if this conversation were to continue, he would something he would regret later.

Luffy incorporated from the hug and stared at him. Sanji stared long and hard into Luffy’s eyes too. 

“I know” He said simply.

This whole situation was getting out of hand, heading to unknown territories and Sanji didn’t have an idea on how to put a finish to it. The way his heart beated, the way his hands sweated and the way he felt his face grow hot, were telling him that he wanted more from Luffy. More of the beautiful words he had said, more and more…But what was more and more again?

A thought crossed his mind then: he wanted to kiss Luffy. Yes, to kiss him.

In what minute had this gone that way? In what minute he had passed from dispissing his captain, to wanting to kiss him? How could he go from one day wanting nothing more than beautiful women kissing him back, to have these thoughts about his captain? Did he even feel something like that for the younger male?

He was this close from doing something crazy. He kept looking at him without saying anything. Luffy stared at him with a huge smile, and in his eyes some emotion displayed. It was like the black haired man knew exactly what was transpiring inside the older man. He was so devious when he wanted to be.

Sanji, moved by an unnamed force, took Luffy’s face with his hands, closed in the space that separated them and… A noise came from the men’s bedroom.

“Ihhhh, they are finally going to kiss!” “Shush” was also heard.

And just like that the spell was broken. Sanji looked at everyone, and then let Luffy go. His face and neck were red. He had been caught by the entire crew almost kissing the captain! 

Luffy on ther other hand looked completely mad. And so were Nami, Chopper, Robin, Brook and Franky. Jimbe seemed as a father that was about to catch his son kissing someone, that is, mortified. Zoro had a smug smile on his face. 

“Why did you have to ruin it, Usopp?!” 

Of course it had to be him to ruin the special moment, thought Sanji. Though, he was indeed thankful. Whatever had possessed him had taken over his entire mind and body. He was sure that he kissing Luffy was the worst idea he could have. The young captain needed someone that would love him back completely and all the time, not just when he said pretty words. 

In a way he was captivating; the way he had gathered the whole crew was through his charm, and he knew he was about to be enchanted once again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhhhh I was waiting to post this chapter so much! Hope you guys had enjoyed it as much as I did writing it :)


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luffy doesn't have a chance, or does he?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this is the morning after the almost kiss. Things are going to go wild soon!

The morning after the “almost kiss” was a pain in the ass for Sanji. The pirates looked at Luffy and him with mischievous eyes. They had probably witnessed the whole exchange and it made him feel so embarrassed. 

He asked later Nami if they had seen everything, she said that they didn’t but they definitely caught them almost kissing. She also said that even if he were to deny that they were almost kissing, no one would believe it. Not even Chopper. That made his face go red. He wanted to explain to the red head that he had been possessed by something, that he wasn’t thinking.

The blond man told her all that but Nami just laughed and made kissing faces before leaving him alone.

Sanji was worried that Luffy would think he had a chance when he didn’t. While they were at breakfast, putting the crew aside, Luffy kept staring at him as if at any given time he would go to him and kiss him. In a way this was better than him being sad or annoyed, but at the end it would do him no good because truthfully the blonde didn’t feel the same.

He didn’t know how to proceed. He could tell Luffy that what had almost happened had been a mistake, which would make him sad. Or he could keep quiet and accept his love…No, wait a minute, that definitely wasn’t an option! Thoughts like these had plagued his mind the whole night. Every time something like that made way to his head he would blush violently. 

He then decided to tell Luffy that even if they had been about to kiss, nothing like that would happen again. He knew that while doing so he would hurt the younger man, but it was worse keeping him with false hopes. 

…………………………

Two days had gone by since Sanji had made up his mind about telling Luffy not to persue him, but he hadn’t been able to since he was extremely nervous. 

They were arriving at an island in a few minutes so the older man thought that it was a good idea to put Luffy apart fron the group once they had reached earth. 

The island was, from what they knew, a very populated one. But they didn’t need anything important besides food for a few days.

Once they were finally ready to go out of the ship, he called out to the captain. He explained him that he wanted to talk in private. Luffy blushed when listening to those words. Sanji felt awful.

The crew had divided in four groups: Chopper, Usopp and Jimbe were to stay in the Sunny; Nami would go to a jewelry shop with Zoro; Robin, Franky and Brook were going to go to look around the town; and Sanji and Luffy would go to shop groceries. 

The whole crew was excited about Sanji going with Luffy. And of course they couldn’t keep quiet, so they started making whistling noises and winking at them. Luffy once again blushed and Sanji felt how his entire face grew hot. He yelled at them to stop, but the more he did, the more they insisted. They laughed well naturedly and wished them good luck.

The blonde headed with his captain to the commercial part of the town. Luffy commented about this and that, but he was fidgety. Sanji was the same. He found it so difficult to be with his captain now; when they used to go shop together, Luffy would try to steal food from him, but now the atmosphere was totally different. The black haired man would peek at him every once in a while, then turn his vision to the front. It was killing Sanji.

Before they arrived at the first store though, Sanji took courage and said to Luffy that they needed to talk. Luffy looked funny as nervous as he was.

“So yesterday…”He began but didn’t know how to continue. 

“Yeah?”Asked Luffy simply. 

“Was a s-special day” He stuttered. He seriously didn’t know how to tell him this. It was as if he had lost the ability to communicate.

Luffy was about to say something before he cut him short.

“What I’m trying to say is that I never thought we would be so close to...You know?” He wasn’t able to say the word “kiss” now. He was going to pass out.

Luffy looked at him weirdly. He seemed pensative. Now Sanji was sure the world would come to an end. “You mean when we were going to kiss?” He said while blushing.

At this the blond man blushed too. He was at a loss of words.

“Y-yes” He tried to keep going “B-but I don’t want you confuse t-things” He stuttered the whole sentence. Damn it.  
His captain stared him hard.

“What do you mean?” He said, with the same sad and hopeful eyes he always had for Sanji.

The blonde was taken aback. Those eyes were going to be the end of him.

“I-I mean that eh…You know….It’s just” He took a deep breath of air. He needed to say this. “I don’t feel the same way” He finally said.

Luffy then laughed. Yes, laughed. Sanji thought maybe he had gone crazy.

“I know, but that didn’t stop you from trying to kiss me shishishi” He said merrily “Even if you don’t admit it, I still have a chance!” Then he sticked out his tongue in a playful way.

If Sanji’s face had grown hot with the conversation, now it burnt.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sanji continues to shop with Luffy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sanji is feeling some things! I never thought he would get that far lol

Sanji needed a woman right now. He needed someone to put away the thoughts that came with Luffy’s statement. How could he be able to move on with his life after what Luffy had said? The man was so shameless. He knew it was his entire fault but that didn’t stop him from blaming the captain for everything that distressed him. 

So that’s why he needed a woman. Women put him at ease. Not men. Men were rude, brash and dirty. He hated all of that. Instead women were beautiful, serene and clean. The most divine creatures God had created. They were exactly what he needed, but he was still roaming aroud the town with Luffy for supplies. It was impossible he would be able to hook up with anyone, also he knew that it would bring him trouble since the captain would get sad.

An unhappy Luffy was the least he wanted. It made him weak. They way his eyes would turn into ones full of sadness and yet also filled with hope was something he had never witnessed in anybody else. Like he had thought a million times before, they made him look so beautiful it was unfair.

But that was precisely why this was getting dangerous for Sanji. Not only was Lufft aware that he had indeed an effect on the older man, but from what he had told the blonde he wanted to exploit all of it. 

Now, as they were shopping, he had tried to look as cute as he could. Sadly for Sanji, it was working. His eyes now ones of joy and mirth, were a cause of desperation for the blond man. They were so bright and shone like probably nothing else did. His smile was contagious one. Also, his usual antics in place, he had tried to steal food from Sanji a couple of times, and it made the cook want to star laughing at any given minute.

When it was time to go back to the Sunny, Luffy now more than aware of the impact his actions had in Sanji, tried to take things to the next level: he took the blonde’s hand in his own. 

Sanji, being as he was, instantly removed his hand from Luffy’s grasp. The rubber man seemed disappointed but not mad. He even pouted. The older man on the other hand was flustered and annoyed.

“D-don’t do that ever again!” He said as firmly as he could.

The captain simply laughed.

……………………………………..

Sanji had already arrived to the ship with Luffy and the crew was ready to depart from the island. The blond man was in the kitchen pacing back and forth. He was so unsettled by his captain’s actions that his mind was out of control. Luckily for him Nami entered the kitchen just in time before his head exploded.

The cook looked completely troubled, and the navigator knew that something was wrong with him instantly. She asked him what was going on. The older man took the opportunity and desperately said, “Nami, you have to help me!”

The red head was perplexed by this. What could have gone so wrong? She cleared her voice before speaking, “What happened?” She tried her best to sound relaxed.

“Luffy held my hand while we shopping!” Said Sanji while getting flustered.

Nami fixed him with a hard stare and then started laughing as if he had told her the best joke ever. “That’s all? I thought the two of you had a fight or something” She seemed to be overjoyed.

Sanji was about to cry. “What do you mean by that’s all? It’s a lot” He took a deep breath. “He thinks he is going to win me over” The thought alone me him shiver.

As the cook paced around the kitchen, Nami looked at him go. “And he isn’t?” She asked geniusly intrigued. Sanji was mortified. “No, of course no”

“You tried to kiss him” Tried to reason the red head. “If that doesn’t look like a chance to win you over, then what would?” Sanji regreted it so much. He was such a fool. 

“I-I know. It was just a lapse” He was so red in the face. “He was saying so many things. He made me so confused” 

“The ladies man is getting charmed, ah” Nami wasn’t joking this time around, she was being honest. To her it looked like Sanji was definitely falling for their captain, but was being stubborn or shy. She couldn’t blame him; the man was known for loving women more than anything and now, being confronted about it not being entirely correct, was sure to put pressure on anyone. Though she assumed that he would always adore females, it seemed as if now a little man would make his way into his heart.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sanji makes some decisions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic is done being written! There are around 9 chapters left for me to post though.  
> Also I'm preparing something new and it's completely different. It will be a Sanlu fic but definitely very distinct from this one.  
> Hope you guys will read it and like it :)

Sanji didn’t like men. He had said it before and maybe he would have to say it again: he didn’t like men of any type. Not muscular ones, not the pretty type and most definitely not a short man made of rubber. 

In what moment had he gone from rejecting Luffy to having to deny they had something? It was as if the black haired man had made his way into his head like a parasite: slowly but surely. 

The times he felt happy or proud because the captain was in love with him resonated through him. Why had he felt that way? Was it because Luffy was such an admirable man that he loving the cook was an unbelievable feature? And thinking back, every occasion he felt angry or in disarray about Zoro because he thought the green haired man felt something for the captain, were so confusing. Was he jealous? It couldn’t be. He didn’t feel that for men and Luffy was definitely one.

………………………..

The next days were filled with adventures, mostly they escaping from the Marines, so Sanji didn’t have much time to overthink anything. And he was glad because of it. He didn’t want to deal with emotions and possibly feelings for his stupid and chaotic captain. Still, he was so mad and every fight he had, he took it out on his enemies; they always ended up more than bruised.

Some of the crew was happy to see that he was doing such a great job protecting them, but the rest knew he was being more violent than usual. Of course the worried ones were the typical: Nami, Robin, Zoro and Luffy.

After a rather excruciating fight, where each had to give their most, he was confronted by Luffy in the kitchen, the place where most of their exchanges happened. He wondered why none of the girls had approached him first since that was how it normally went. Also he seriously didn’t want to face the captain right now, not after such a hard battle. 

The black haired man observed him with worried eyes, but they were full of confidence at same time, as if they were ready to listen to anything the blonde had to say, but wouldn’t put up with any type of bullshit. “Why are you so mad?” He began.

Straight to the point, thought the cook. 

“I’m not mad, I’m just tired” Said Sanji. And he was, but that didn’t explain his behavior in the least. It was obvious he was lying and Luffy was having none of it.

“We all are. But that doesn’t make us be meaner than usual” He said with a pout. He looked adorable, thought the older man mortified. Then the captain continued, “You aren’t being like the one I know. The one I love” He said with radiant eyes, and a blush adorning his tanned skin. 

Sanji felt the color rushing to his face more quickly than he wanted. How his captain had that much personality to begin with? He was all the time spouting so many embarrassing things. 

The blonde waited a few instants and then started, “I don’t know. Maybe I have always been a worse person than you” He was feeling like trash. He was so preoccupied with his thoughts, that he didn’t catch the moment Luffy came closer to him.

“You are not. You have always been the kindest man I know” The younger man had put his hands in Sanji’s face while looking straight into his eyes. 

Sanji gulped. They were once again in dangerous territory. He didn’t know how to respond to any of what Luffy was saying. He was so tired. He was aware that the black haired man was putting his spell on him. 

He decided to put an end to it. “You shouldn’t be so close” He began, and pushed Luffy away. “Don’t you see what you do to me?” He was so tired.

But Luffy didn’t relent. “I don’t know. You tell me” He had hope in his eyes. It was driving him crazy.

“Every time you come near me, you say these embarrassing things and then you look at me with those eyes and it’s making me crazy” He couldn’t stop himself from saying.

“And why it’s making you crazy?” The captain said with faith in his voice.

“Because…I don’t know” Sanji said desperately. “Your eyes are drivng me crazy” He put a hand in his head. He was on the verge of tears. He was almost there. 

How could Luffy not understand the things he was making him feel? 

“Hey, it’s okay. Don’t worry” The black haired man said in a soothing way. He began to come closer to Sanji again. 

The blond man noticed but didn’t push him away like last time. “No, it’s not okay” He began, but he had one more thing to say, “I-I think I am beginning t-to l-like you but that c-can’t be because I only like g-girls” He stuttered the whole sentence. 

He had to admit it. He was starting to like Luffy in a romantic level, like the captain had wanted and had achieved. It didn’t mean that he liked this though. He had been so afraid of acknowledge it that the thought only made his way fully into his head and heart with Luffy close to him. It couldn’t be in a different form; it couldn’t be with him lost in thoughts, it had to be with his captain.

He thought that Luffy would hug him, try to kiss him, laugh loudly or some usual Luffy thing, but instead he only gave him a smile. A beautiful one, to Sanji at least. 

Despite all that he tought about Luffy doing out of happiness, it was him the one to seek comfort, so he hugged him as strongly as he could. His feelings were by no means simple, they were filled with unresolved questions that made him confused and distressed, but having the captain close to him made it seem as if the world had stopped altogether.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The get caught by the crew

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The story is advancing and we are getting closer to the end!  
> As always, thank you so much for reading :)

They were hugging tightly and none of them were pulling away in the least. Sanji was relaxed and felt how Luffy sighed close to his chest. In that moment he felt as time had stopped. It felt so good and yet so different. It wasn’t like the way he would hold women he barely knew; he was embracing his captain here. A man, but to him the most admirable one he ever met. The one who had helped him in his darkest days and that was making him come closer to achieving his dream, the All Blue. The man that made him feel so many things.

Was this how love was supposed to be? Full of questions, indecision and confused feelings? He didn’t like it one bit. He liked women, but had never fallen in love with one. Was this falling in love? He despised men, the only exception his crewmates, and now especially Luffy…

Doubts made way to his head: did he only like Luffy? When did he start feeling this way? Was he falling in love? Did people feel completely lost while falling in love like he was? Or was his mind disturbed because the captain was a man? And one of the most importan ones: How would the crew react? 

A long time passed and the line between a friendly hug to one of lovers and had been crossed already. Sanji couldn’t back away now. If anyone were to see them, they would instantly know what was going on. He had to at least let Luffy go.

He was the first one to pull away, Luffy looking disappointed. He needed to explain things to the black haired man, make things clear from the get go. “Luffy, you know I said that I liked you, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to be with you” Then in a more hushed way he said, “Just yet” He felt his face grow hotter than how it was. 

The younger man didn’t seem fazed in the least and only stated, “Oh, I know. Don’t worry” He then gave him a huge smile, those that reached his eyes in a mesmerizing way. Sanji knew he was completely lost.

He had lost this game he had been playing with Luffy. Maybe it had been destined to be this way. Maybe the moment he had set his eyes on him he had lost. 

There were tons of things he wanted to know too, the first one just to fill his ego.

“So, why me and not someone like Zoro” Said Sanji through a tired smile. He sure was outworn but his competitive side won.

“I don’t know. I just feel this way for you” Stated Luffy with his face getting a darker red. He was being so sincere that it made the cook feel bad for asking a question just to win over Zoro. He knew he was more than jealous of the green haired man. The swordsman held a special place within the captain’s heart and it always showed. According to both Luffy and Zoro, the man didn’t feel anything for the black haired man but it still put him on edge; an overprotective side surfaced. Though he knew he had to apologize for being childish.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked that” He said genuinely. Luffy looked puzzled and then began with, “Don’t be? You are so weird sometimes” He laughed loudly.

The cook grimaced. Now this was the usual Luffy. He suddenly decided he didn’t want to talk with the man anymore. He smiled at him and said, “I’m kinda tired, I think I need to go to sleep for some time” He lied but he was indeed too tired to continue with the conversation.

The captain seemed to be disappointed but accepted it easily. Then both left the kitchen, only to find out that the whole crew had been eavesdropping their private talk. He more than knew that his face had a blush, but now it was beet red. Luffy was the same. Could it be that this crew had no shame? They seemed apologetic, even Zoro. They also looked happy for them. He didn’t know how much they had listened. He needed to know.

“How much did you listen, you little shits?” He said with a growl of angriness and frustration. 

No one wanted to talk. Some time passed and Robin, being the calm one of the crew, started saying, “We are very sorry, Sanji. We didn’t want to intrude, but we were really worried” She stated with a small smile to appease the man. But something weird was also on that smile; it was like she had enjoyed way too much what was happening.

She continued, “We didn’t catch much if that leaves you at ease” 

“How much was it?” He said through gritted teeth. He was mad at the crew, even if it was Robin talking.

Usopp then took the opportunity to speak. “We only listened when you said that you l-liked Luffy” He said nervously. 

He felt his entire body grow hot; he had been caught red handed. Oh they were so shameless, they didn’t even try to deny the fact that they were listening. It just had to be his luck that they entered the scene when he was confessing.

On the other hand Luffy was unbelievable quiet. He didn’t say anything and just passed through the crew. Then he said in an alarming relaxed voice, “Don’t do that ever again” He smiled but it was insincere. He was never that way. He was the most laid back guy the crew knew and yet he was so mad. The young ones gulped. Zoro almost seemed to scowl. As to why, Sanji couldn’t figure it out. He only knew that it would bring more problems.


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sanji and Zoro talk about things

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my favorite chapter.

Luffy noticed that Zoro was now fully scowling. He seemed genuinely mad the instant he perceived it. He started saying, “Hey Zoro, why do you look so angry?” 

To this the green haired man didn’t seem fazed at all. “I don’t think that’s a way for you to behave with the crew” He said as if it was the most normal thing. Instead everyone knew he had dropped a bomb. He didn’t care, it was obvious. 

“You guys were eavesdropping on me and Sanji” He continued, “I don’t think that’s right either”

Zoro took a deep breath and stated calmly, “And we said we were sorry. Isn’t that enough?” He picked at his ear nonchalantly. 

That seemed to get the captain even more displeased. “Yes, but that was a private conversation. And it’s not the first time it happens” To the cook, the situation was making him remember of when Luffy had fought with Usopp. The whole crew noticed this and was trying to appease both the captain and swordsman. 

“Hey, Luffy and Zoro, just drop it” Said Franky the quietest way he could muster. “We won’t do it again. Promise. Suuuuper” He added, with one of his usual antincs to ease the state of affairs. 

But Zoro just had to go and speak up, “You are just mad because we caught you with your boyfriend” It was clear the man wasn’t thinking straight. Now Sanji was getting mad too, but decided that more annoyed people would only add fire to the trouble. He tried to reason with Zoro. “That’s not your problem” It seemed to provoke the green haired man more.

“It is my problem because maybe he starts treating you differently” He said in a harsh tone. It was extremely difficult to see the man this mad.

Luffy soon cutted in, “You know I would never do that!” The black haired man was sure angry too. “I thought you would be first one to understand…” He now looked sad.

Why would he say that though? Was Zoro in love too? Sanji recalled the conversation he once had with the captain, the one where the man had told him that Zoro liked someone else. He didn’t believe it was possible. The more he thought about it, the more it didn’t make sense and only one option came into mind: Luffy. That was clouding his thoughts, but he decided to trust both of them so he wouldn’t get madder.

Seeing Luffy looking sad always had an effect on the crew; they couldn’t stand it, and quickly Zoro got out of his stupor and made peaceful signs with his hands. “Okay, okay. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it” He tried being as relaxed as he could. “I got angry because you never speak that way to us” 

Luckly for everyone, Luffy smiled with ease and said that there was no problem. He soon went to shake his hand and tried to hug him in a friendly way. That made Sanji get mad; they had been hugging just moments ago and now he was hugging Zoro? He knew he was being a jealous bastard but couldn’t help the frown that appeared in his face. No one seemed to notice though, which made him feel relieved to be able to feel angry in peace.

Of one thing Sanji was sure of: he had to know whom Zoro loved.

…………………………………

Before they could get into another adventure in one of the many islands they had to travel, Sanji took the opportunity to speak with Zoro. He made sure no one was listening like the last times. He quickly addressed the topic to the man.

Of course the green haired man laughed. He also knew he was being jealous without reason, but he had to be sure, or he wouldn’t be able to stay tranquil. 

He asked in a more serious way. He didn’t want to recongnize it but it almost sounded like plead. The swordsman stopped laughing at this and stared at the blond man with an unreadable face. He was starting to think, as he could tell. It was as if the man didn’t know how to begin.

“Ah, eh…” He started. Sanji wanted to roll his eyes so badly. He continued, “You shouldn’t worry about it” He said quickly and made way to leave the place they were talking. He couldn’t though since Sanji stopped him from leaving. “What else do you want to know?” Asked Zoro nervously. “Are you that jealous?” He tried to smile smugly but only a shy grin was on his face. 

Sanji blushed at his words nevertheless, even if he knew that the man was hiding something. A red color was on his cheeks. Little, but definitely there.

“Anyways, who do you like so much?” He repeated, meanwhile he was mortified for his own blush. 

Zoro didn’t like the question one bit. He started scowling and made a weird face with that ugly mug of his. “No one” He said totally unsure and unconvincing. Sanji smirked. Oh, so the moss head had feelings.

“Nah, you are lying” He teased. 

“I’m not!” The man exclaimed. 

“Yeah, you sure are”

“No, I’m not!”

The childish exchange continued for some time but the more they went on with it, the more obvious was that Sanji was winning. He was so getting this information out of the green haired man! He needed to know, he simply had to, otherwise he would never be able to be calm.

“Okay, okay! I’ll tell you! But you can’t tell anyone else!” He was so restless. He practically yelled the whole sentence.

“L…” he said in a hushed tone. He was blushing so badly too.

“What? I couldn’t hear you. Sorry” Sanji said sincerely.

“I l-like L…” His voice would go quieter the moment the name was about to be said. He also wouldn’t look Sanji’s way. The cook was getting desperate.

“I can’t hear you. I swear I won’t tell anyone” 

“It’s ah, eh, you know it’s better be left unsaid. If it makes you calmer, it’s definitely not Luffy” He said rapidly. He was so flustered.

“Hey, it’s okay. Maybe I can help you with it” To the blond it was clear the man had made no move and was hopeless. Maybe it was indeed   
Luffy and that was why. “Or is it Luffy, and you won’t admit it?” He said intently.

“It’s not freaking Luffy. It’s Law!” He said exasperatedly with a blush covering all the spots that could be seen of his skin. “Now, would you give it a rest and leave me alone?” He sighed as if to calm himself.

Law?! It had to be a joke! It couldn’t be. No, there was just no way. The man had to be lying. 

“No way. You must be lying” He looked at him as if he had grown two heads. 

“No, I’m not. Now leave me alone”

Relief made way into his head rapidly like water extinguishing fire.

“But how?” Sanji was so curious now, he had to know.

“I don’t know, it just happened” He said clearly frustrated. “Maybe we spent too much time together in Wano…” The swordsman added defensively. 

“Does he know?” Asked Sanji somehow worried for his crewmate. Who would have thought he could be worried for the moss head? He felt some kind of pity for the man since Trafalgar Law didn’t seem the kind of man to just fall for someone. 

“Of course he doesn’t. That’s why I’m telling you to shut up about it” The man looked severely upset. “Only Luffy and now you know it, so please keep quiet about it”

“Are you going to do something about it” Sanji asked quietly, trying to ease the green haired man. “No” Was the answer he received. He didn’t want to push the man more into his limits, so he decided to stop there. 

The men departed their ways and Sanji kept feeling relieved for the information he had come to know, though he in fact was really concerned for his crewmate and his feelings. Who could have thought he could fall for someone so out of grasp? A man that seemed to be so indifferent to love…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I insist that this is my favorite chapter. I waited so long to reveal this lol


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luffy and Sanji get along really well

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is the first part of the next one.  
> Enjoy :)

A few weeks had passed after Sanji had confessed to have some feelings for Luffy. While the cook wanted nothing more than come back in time and make his past self stay quiet, the captain was extremely happy. It was easy to tell since a smile would be plastered the whole day in his face, also the crew liked to comment about it. Their captain was in such high spirits that it also spread to the rest of the pirates.

Sanji on the other hand felt mortified. He couldn’t believe he had said all those things to the rubber man. Seeing Luffy so blissful was somehow intimidating for the cook since he was still rather confused of his feelings. Did he really feel so strongly for his captain? Would he be able to be with a man? And if he could, would he be able to enter a relationship with the man? 

Even if he was embarrassed by the whole thing, he couldn’t help feeling a little better, less worried as when he was trying to figure out things on his own. While Luffy being overly happy was something that frightened him, it still made his heart beat like crazy and he would even feel butterflies! 

Now that scared him. He knew those were obvious signs of falling in love and he wasn’t ready; he was a ladies man meant to love every woman in the world, not to settle down with a guy no less!

But he couldn’t voice out any of his fears, not when the crew would give them looks of complete pride. Like they were destined to be together. Like even if they hadn’t noticed the captain’s feelings at first, things finally made sense now. 

Though the thing that had him more confused was the fact that the times he would feel more at peace was when he was with Luffy, fears and nervousness forgotten. Even if he knew that seeing the man being so glad provoked in him thousands of emotions that were difficult to describe.

But the most important thing was that the black haired man never pressured him into doing anything he didn’t want. Of course he would seek his company, but he would still give him space for the older man to be calmer. Sanji was so thankful for it. 

……………………………………..

One day they got into one island and as always divided the crew like the usually did, but now with the fixed pair of Sanji and Luffy. They were supposed to shop the provisions for the next weeks to come, so they headed to the center of the town that was in the island. 

They town was packed full with people of all types and races. Luffy even wanted to recruit some of them! Of course Sanji stopped him quickly. 

They went to the stores that had the basic stuff needed for cooking, and after buying everything, the rubber man decided to ask the blonde for candy. The cook denied him his petition saying that there wasn’t enough time and money for it, that Nami would kill him if he spent more than was budgeted. But Luffy didn’t relent; he wanted that candy right now. 

He was about to throw a tantrum when Sanji did the first thing that came into his mind. He took Luffy’s hand on his own and held it firmly as if he were to escape at any given time. His grip was strong but made sure it wasn’t a hurting one. To this the black haired man blushed furiously. He began stuttering. For once it was the other way around. The cook smiled.

“Did you listen to me? There is no money for candy, so we aren’t buying any, okay?” Said Sanji kind of proud of himself gor being able to handle Luffy.

“Y-you are holding my hand!” Luffy looked so happy. The blond man continued smiling.

In that moment, and as most of the time happened with the captain, he felt as if nothing else mattered. He didn’t care about anyone in that instant, just Luffy and his warm hand. He simply couldn’t perceive the looks some people were giving them. 

“Yes, I am” He said contented.

“You aren’t embarrassed” It was a statement, not a question. 

“No, I am not” He gave Luffy a genuine smile.

They were like that for a time and then when Luffy wanted to let the cook’s hand go, Sanji still held firmly. He didn’t know what had possessed him, but he felt the need to be close to the man next to him. If it were possible he would have hugged him. He didn’t know where this side of him was coming from. All he knew was that he desired to be as close as he could with the rubber man.

Luffy gave him a smile in response and his blush kept spreading. It looked amazing in him, Sanji thought. 

“Let’s go to the Sunny” Said Luffy through his smile.

……………………………….

One day had passed and Sanji was in a really good mood. He had spent holding Luffy’s hand some time. He even got to the ship without loosing his grip. The crew received them with impressed stares and the younger ones began teasing them. The cook didn’t care. 

The pirates had taken off to a new island yesterday and now they were navigating through the sea. Everything seemed to be in place. He was ready with the plates for lunch, so he decided to head out of the kitchen to the front of the Sunny to rest a little, when he heard some noise behind him.

It was Jimbe looking completely flustered. 

“Y-you need to see this!” He said quickly. “Luffy, where are you?” He called out to the captain. “I need you here!”

Sanji didn’t understand anything, and was getting worried as time passed. He tried to get the fishman to speak but he said that he would do it once Luffy got there.

Once the rubber man had gotten to where they were, the older man began speaking hurriedly, “You seriously need to see this!” He then showed them a newspaper with something interesting in the front page.

It was a picture of them both holding hands with a huge headline that said, “Romance inside the Sunny: Is the fifth emeperor in love with his cook?!”

Sanji felt like passing out.


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things get really good!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are like five chapters away from the final!  
> I can't wait to post it :)

“What the hell is this?!” 

Sanji was now pale. He was sweating cold from head to toe. How could this happen?! When he had taken Luffy’s hand in his own he had been happy and hadn’t cared about the rest of the people that were with them, but for the whole world to know was something entirely different!

He wasn’t ready for any of this. He had been such a fool. Thinking he could be able to be with the black haired man and in front of tons of people. But this was just too much: now the entire population of earth probably knew. Maybe even his father. How would he react to all of this? When he had confessed to Luffy he hadn’t thought that far. He had only cared of the crew accepting them but now everything was a mess. He felt like throwing up.

Of course Luffy was laughing like there was no tomorrow. In Sanji’s eyes he seemed to be even proud of the whole situation. The crew was laughing too, except for Jimbe that again looked mortified. He really saw Luffy as a son.

Sanji’s head was a mess; he wanted to throw himself to the ocean to never appear again. He wanted so badly to go to his room and hide. Also he knew that his face was beet red. How could Luffy be so calm? Well, if you call dying from laughter calm.

He needed to put an end to this. 

“Okay, okay, everyone stop!” He began.

To this Nami was the first one to speak, “We are sorry Sanji, it’s just that we never imagined this would happen” She continued laughing. “Also the headline is so funny”

“I don’t see anything funny in that thing, so now please stop it” He was getting mad and the crew noticed, so they decided to put and end to their laughs.

Luffy then decided to speak, “Hey, don’t get so mad. It’s just some silly thing” He said through a small smile to appease Sanji. 

“No, it’s not” The blond man was loosing it. “Now the whole world knows about us”

“And who cares? It’s better that way” He kept trying. “Now the whole world knows about us” He said so happy, as if the fact that Sanji had said “us” meant the world to him.

His eyes shone in that special way that drived the cook mad. He was beginning to relax. The words he had said finally sinking in: now he and Luffy were an “us”. Not separated forms but two persons somehow united by what he dared to say was love. The most unbelievable part was that he wasn’t scared for once about the fact that he was undoubtedly falling in love with his captain.

They were getting kind of emotional, staring at each other with meaningful looks, so the rest of the crew decided to leave them alone. Once they were on their own, they kept quiet for some time and then Sanji decided that he needed to do something with his beating heart. He head was clouded not by thoughts but by feelings. He couldn’t resist anymore: he had to kiss Luffy then and there. 

He got closer to Luffy with intention. He stared lovingly into Luffy’s eyes and what he found was the same hope that always inhabited them and made him crazy with thrill. 

The rubber man knew exactly what was about to happen and leaned in right at the same time that Sanji did. 

Both of them closed their eyes and their lips touched chastely, like feathers. They spent a few moments like that without moving. Then they separated slowly. 

Sanji knew his face was red, but so was Luffy’s, so he decided he didn’t care. The taste of the captain’s lips were ones of candy that have been made by him. He smiled, unable to contain his happiness. The black haired man was also smiling.

Before he knew it though, he was being pulled down for another kiss. He was surprised but gladly complied. This time it was different: Luffy had parted his lips and Sanji’s tongue was inside his mouth. This kiss was passionate unlike the first one. They spent some time kissing until they were out of breath. Then the captain spoke.

“I have wanted to do this for so long” He looked gorgeous out of breath.

Sanji kept grinning. “Same” He said confidently. It seemed all the time he had spent overthinking about him liking Luffy or not had been a great waste of energy. He liked the man, even if he was his captain, even if he was a guy.

……………………………..

After their first kiss, things seemed to have finally settled down with Luffy and Sanji. They were all the time close to each other, the captain always being by the cook’s side. Of course that meant that he was most of the time in the kitchen, so whenever they apparently fought, it was just Luffy trying to steal food. The blond man’s angriness never lasted though.

One day, after getting out of an island that only had wild animals and bad weather, the pirates encountered a huge ship that looked almost as if waiting for them. They didn’t know if they were good guys or wanted a fight, so Luffy decided to speak loudly to them asking what their bussines were. But then something like fire jumped down at the Sunny. 

Luffy didn’t seem worried; he knew exactly what it was, or better yet, who it was.


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meeting the family!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was probably one of the funniest I wrote.  
> Hope you guys like it :)

The fire entity landed heavily in the Sunny’s floor, but it didn’t break or burn anything. The crew was frantic about stopping or attacking the thing but Luffy halted them. Then the fire started to dissipate. What they found was a young blond man, with a scar on the left eye. The guy looked incredibly happy for someone that was about to strike.

The crew knew what was going on, only Sanji was totally confused. Then the man gave the lot a huge smile, his eyes searching for something. They stopped at Sanji’s form. The cook was flustered and ready to assault if necessary. 

The blond man got close to Sanji and started inspecting him from inch to inch. Sanji got mad and yelled, “What the hell is going on?” Who is this guy?” Something seemed to dawn in Luffy: the older man didn’t know about his other brother.

“Don’t worry! This is my older brother!” Said the captain merrily.

“Your what?!” Sanji was completely lost. Luffy had another brother? One he had never talked about apparently. He had thought that Ace was his only brother but that wasn’t the case. He could have gotten mad with Luffy for not telling him such important information, but since he had kept quiet about his own bloodline there was no place for angriness.

“Yes, my brother. Say hi to him!” Added Luffy, like nothing that what was going on was weird. Especially the long stares the man was giving Sanji.

“Hi, older brother?” He said confused. 

“Hi, Luffy’s boyfriend” He said through a smile. Not a sarcastic one, just a simple grin.

At that Sanji felt his face grow hot. He never thought he would have to deal with another brother, but this was one of the things he had known were going to happen thanks to that newspaper. 

The man wasn’t moving from examining him and it was getting awkward fastly. Until a voice could be heard from above the Sunny, directly from the bigger ship.

“Stop bothering him, Sabo!” A pretty woman yelled down at them. “You’re worried about nothing!” The man now known as Sabo moved apart. He then yelled back, “I’m not worried, I’m just saying hi to Luffy’s boyfriend”

Oh, so the man was scanning him because of that. To the world he was Luffy’s boyfriend…He gulped, even if he wasn’t intimidated by the man.

“So you’re Sanji, ah?” He then continued camly, “Nice to meet you” He took his hand and started shaking it vigorously. “My name is Sabo” He smiled once again.

Luffy began speaking, “Sabo, what are you doing here?” He added, “I’m so happy to see you are okay” It was easy to tell that the captain was blissful. “Your crew can come down here if they want to” 

“I don’t think that’s gonna be possible” He said with a small frown “Your father wants us to continue the trip the fastest we can. He only allowed me to come say hi” He then waved to the entire crew saying hello. 

The crew’s eyes grew in shape: the leader of the Revolutionary Army, Monkey D. Dragon, Luffy’s father, was with them!

Nami quickly said, “But he needs to check on his son”

“’It’s just that we’re traveling fast. The marines are after us” Said Sabo rather angry at being denied spending more time with his beloved brother. “You should be careful too” He added, “Don’t go to the south. That’s where they are coming from”

Luffy was about to say okay, when a loud voice talked, “You should have told me that you were Straw hat boy’s boyfriend from the start. Maybe that way I could have helped you faster, Sanji boy!” Then a laugh was heard, “Mmmmfufufu”

Sanji grimaced. Of course he had to encounter Emporio Ivankov here. “I told you I was in his crew. You were just being stubborn!” He screamed annoyed.

Again a laugh could be heard. “I’m sorry. But now I can see that things are more than okay with your crew. Mmmmfufufu”

He knew exactly what they were referring to and he got so embarrassed. “Leave me alone, you crazy person!” He said angrily. Only a laugh could be heard.

Tons of people were now watching the exchange, his crew and the Revolutionary Army. The only ones not paying attention were Luffy and his brother, which seemed to be happily talking about something. The blond man was just able to listen to Luffy saying how content he was with everything that was happening with Sanji. The cook smiled, he was so glad himself that he was capable of making the captain happy.

Suddenly everyone moved or gasped, especially the ones in the Revolutionary Army’s ship. A tall figure had made its way to the rail. It was none other than the Commander Monkey D. Dragon. He looked upset. 

“It’s time to go, Sabo” He said with a firm voice. 

“Okay, Sir” Said Sabo rather sad at having to go so quickly. He then told Luffy, “That’s your father, by the way”

Luffy gasped. The man was nervous, it totally looked like this was the last thing he wanted to do. 

The young captain then decided to say hi to his father with a huge smile, as if time hadn’t passed between the both of them. His father simply put a saludating hand in the air and left.

“What a nice guy, shishishi” Said Luffy merrily.

The whole crew laughed. That was so their usual captain.

Sabo began retreating back to his ship, not before hugging his little brother goodbye. The whole Revolutionary Army waved goodbye to the Straw hat crew and then made their way to continue with his trip through the seas. 

After that rapid meeting, Sanji was left a mess. He had to deal with an entire crew that was worried aobut his small captain. Not only the older brother was there, the father was too! At least they seemed nice enough and didn’t seek any trouble with him. It seemed that he was accepted in a way by Sabo, but Luffy’s dad he didn’t know one bit. Did he even care?

When everyone resumed back to their posts, Nami said preoccupiedly that if the Revolutionary Army was escaping from the marines, then it was propably best to fly the scene fast.

They continued calmly their trip to one of the islands they used as a pass by to get some supplies, but Sanji felt as if something bad was about to happen.


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Straw hats face dangerous things

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are getting increbibly closer to the end!

The crew arrived shortly at an island after encountering the Revolutionary Army. This one seemed big enough to be a country of its own. The port was filled with ships of all types and it took them some time to find a spot to nail anchors. 

They were going to do what they usually did when getting into a new island: divide into groups and start exploring the land the best they could. As they have done lately, they paired Sanji and Luffy up so both could spend time together. They were almost done formings the teams when they heard a noise coming from the right side of the big port that harbored the ships. The only thing visible from the chaos that was taking shape was dust, wood from the port flying everywhere and water splashing through the air. People started running in the opposite direction of the turmoil and even screams could be heard. 

When the dust dissipated a little, they noticed that a Marine ship was making its way to the port. They soon understood why everyone was so intent on getting away as fast as they could. 

The marines that had managed to get into the port before the ship arrived were fighting with a pirate crew that the Straw hats had no idea of. By the looks of things the pirates were clearly loosing, and were arrested forcefully.

The Straw hats even if known for always helping people, this time weren’t bent on rescuing the pirates since they had never crossed paths with them before. Also they didn’t know if they were good people or not. So they decided to just start to weigh anchors and flee fastly from the island. There was no way in hell that they would be able to explore the place without having tons of trouble.

They were ready to leave when they noticed that the Marine ship was done anchoring and that a horde of marines were going out to fight with the pirates that still remained in the island. They soon made their way to the Sunny, as if they knew from the start that the Straw hats would be there.

They weren’t afraid by any means, but they also didn’t want to get in a pointless fight. They would have to get the supplies in another island but they weren’t that worried. 

Franky was about to do a Coup de burst when something hit the Sunny from above. It was something like fire, but it spread differently; it was lava. In that instant the whole crew knew what and who they were facing, it couldn’t be another person, it had to be him. 

It was Akainu, the Fleet Admiral of the Marines. 

Sanji saw how Luffy’s face paled as if he had seen a ghost. It was probably his first time seeing the man after he had killed Ace. The captain was almost as if in a trance. The cook knew he had to do something to wake the man from his state quickly. 

He took Luffy’s hand and shook it with force so he would notice that they were being attacked by the Marine. The rubber man got out of his absorption. 

The tall evil man began speaking as he made way to the Sunny while everyone was on a stupor. 

“So trying to run away, Straw hat?” He said as bitterly as he could. He then added, “Thought you had enough of all that since tha last time we saw each other”

Luffy was quickly mad. The whole crew took notice of it. Sanji didn’t know if it was a good idea having the captain fight with the Marine. He thought it was dangerous. 

To be honest with himself, Sanji didn’t even know if Luffy wanted revenge for what had happened with Ace. Knowing the rubber man, it was probable that he didn’t, but it was hard to tell. He needed to ask and fastly.

“Luffy, we have to get out of here” He said hurriedly. Then continued, “Or do you want to fight him?” His voice was laced with a fear he didn’t want to show.

The captain looked confused, as if he wanted to go to the wicked man and punch him as hard as he could, but at the same time he seemed incredibly sad and lost. The crew didn’t know what to do.

Zoro being the first mate decided that the best course of action was to take off and fast. Everyone followed his directions and got once again in positions to navigate. 

Whereas Akainu insisted on his powerful attacks and kept striking them at the Sunny. It was probably the first time their ship had taken that much damage but they had to run or they were done for, if the state the captain was any indicator of how a fight would be.

Before Franky could get ready to try and do a Coup de burst though, another assault got the front part of the Thousand Sunny. Then everyone noticed that the barrels of cola were completely destroyed and, now, empty. Also they soon noted that there were several Marine ships surrounding them. It was easy to see that there was going to be only one option for them to escape: to fight.


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Straw hats fight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters left omg!

How that many Marine ships have gathered there without them knowing was beyond Sanji. And while he was sure they would put up a good fight, something in his gut told him that this time things would be really hard. It made him restless.

Luffy was still dumbfounded, even if the cook had shaken him to wake him up from his state. He seemed torn between protecting the Sunny or going straight to hit Akainu. The blond man didn’t know what to do. Normally the captain was certain of what to do in these kinds of situations, but now he looked so unsure.

Everyone seemed to notice the problem so Zoro spoke and said that they needed to defend their ship instead of attacking just because. The last part was obviously directed at Luffy, so he wouldn’t go and try to battle the Marine. The whole crew agreed on those terms, even the black haired man.

They didn’t have a plan of action though and everything they could think of was to shield the ship the best they could. Since the attacks came both from the front and the rear, they decided that they would divide into three groups: one for securing the prow, the second one for the back, and the last one to get the Sunny going as fast as they could. 

The first group was composed of Luffy, Ussop and Zoro, and they would have to deal with Akainu and some other marines. The second group was made by Sanji, Robin, Brook and Chopper. The third one was formed by Nami, Jimbe and Franky.

Each one of the groups were totally focused on the task at hand that was getting the Sunny out of the island. 

While the first group was having a hard time redirecting the attacks from the Fleet Admiral, that consisted in magma, and that burned the ship’s surface, the second group was facing the rest of the marines in a good way. They were definitely winning on that side. And that was helpful since they would be able to escape quickly if things kept that way.

Meanwhile, the third group, seeing as the second one was defeating the marines in the rearguard, was getting ready to start navigating. 

Cannons could be heard assaulting both the Sunny and the Marine’s ships. Sanji did his best to stop them from getting to their ship, but some still landed heavily. Thanks to his group’s effort though, the hits weren’t deep and the ship was still in good shape. 

At least in the rear.

In the front they were having serious trouble. The low grade marines weren’t a problem at all for Usopp to take by shooting them down, but Akainu was a tough opponent and didn’t budge one bit. He was coming closer and closer to the Sunny and it was scaring the whole crew.

Also he kept talking in a vicious way, obviously to lure Luffy out of the Sunny and capture him. His words were filled with poison and each one leaded to insult Ace one way or another. The captain was at his limit. 

Everyone screamed at him not to listen to the evil man, that he was only sayin those things to trick him, but the more the marine spoke, the madder Luffy was getting.

The rubber man was seeing red. One more thing and he would explode.

Seeing the Straw hats captain’s reaction, the man continued with his jabs. 

“Your brother was the worst kind of scum on earth! Why do you defend him so much, Straw hat?!” 

And that was it. The captain finally lost it. He got out of the Sunny furious despite all what Zoro yelled at the man to stay put where he was, and skipped past the whole lot of marines that came his way. He encountered the Fleet Admiral quickly and was more than ready to combat Akainu. 

The young captain was having none of what the older man had to say about his dear brother and didn’t beat an eye in telling the man to shut up. The marines were amazed and disrupted by the rubber man’s fierceness. To the public eye he seemed like a wild beast about to strike on a defenseless small animal. 

Akainu didn’t say anything; instead he only scowled completely annoyed by the younger man’s outburst. 

That didn’t stop Luffy from talking though.

“Don’t you dare say ever again those things about Ace! He was the best brother one could have!” Said Luffy through gritted teeth. 

“I can say all what I want. Pirates are trash, and so was your brother” He said easily. 

Luffy was ready to punch him in the face. He was getting into gear third to do so. He didn’t care about anything else; all he was thinking was to shut the man up. He had offended his brother, the brother that taught him how to be a man, to stop crying and to fight. 

He was set to punch him, he striked but didn’t feel his hand connect with the man’s face at all. Instead he found his arm being held strongly as something burned trough it. It hurt like hell but he wasn’t bailing even if his limb was damaged beyond repair.

He tried to get loose of the the Marine’s grip, but the older man just pulled him closer to hit him in the stomach. He succeeded and Luffy felt the air blow out of his lungs. Then another hit punched him in the face and the young one was seeing stars. 

The whole crew was worried now, watching as their captain was clearly loosing the fight. Nami then asked Zoro why he wasn’t helping Luffy, but the man simply said that it wasn’t his place to go and interfere. The Straw hats understood his point of view, but this just wasn’t the moment to be all honorific and state those things. 

Sanji thought the situation was catastrophic and that they needed to help Luffy no matter if he wanted or not. So, preoccupied as he was, he left his spot in the rear group and went to the front fastly. He started screaming at Luffy to just get away, to not fight the older man, but Luffy kept stubbornly trying to hit the man wherever he could manage. He wasn’t thinking things through. 

Akainu, meanwhile, kept attacking Luffy as strongly as he could. The rubber man was bruised in his entire body, and blood spilled from his mouth, if not elsewhere. He was in a bad condition. He was starting to loose conscience and was about to fall to the ground defeated at the hands of the Fleet Admiral of the Marines. 

The evil man began transforming his arm and hand into magma and it was easy to see what was going to happen: Luffy would be hit in the   
chest the same way that had killed Portgas D. Ace.

But when he was striking, ready to murder Luffy, something interposed between both males. A strong leg positioned itself defending the young captain of the attack. 

Then a scream and a shatter could be heard.


	24. Chapter 24

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sanji is in great pain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for extreme violence!!!

The pain that spreaded through his veins was unbelievable and hard to withstand. It was probably the worst one he had ever felt in his life time. It was like having a broken bone being repaired with fire. He could feel himself screaming but the sound didn’t connect with his ears at all; it was just a sensation. 

Sanji wanted to touch his leg as if to appease the soreness but, from the hit he received, he wasn’t sure if there was a limb to touch with his hands. The only reason he thought that it was still there was because the pain would have gone away, but since it didn’t, he decided his leg was definitely in its place. 

He didn’t know what to do, he was too lost on the ache that traveled inside his body, and no other thought came into mind. Even if he was sure he had a pretty good reason for being where he was, the pain just made it impossible for him to think about anything else.

The cook could also hear several noises on his sides that seemed like screams. They weren’t that far away, but they weren’t that close either. Like whoever screamed was still on the ship...Wait, what ship? 

Ship…The Sunny…the crew…Luffy…

Luffy!

He was saving Luffy! He was saving him from that evil man. Had he managed to do so? 

With what little conscience the blond could gather, he looked around to see Luffy laying on the floor of the port almost deafeated but still conscious on his right side. He looked to be completely surprised by his intervention and seemed to be ready to get up to help him. 

He wanted to run with Luffy from the place to get to the Sunny, but he knew that he couldn’t on his own. 

And what about Akainu? He didn’t know how much time had passed but looking around he was able to fix his stare into the Fleet Admiral’s face; he was totally perplexed. That was the most obvious reason as to why Luffy and him weren’t dead by now. 

Luffy shook him by the shoulder to get his attention, then he began saying, “I’m so sorry, Sanji. Your leg..Your” He seemed on the verge of tears. “We need to get to the Sunny” He said hurriedly.

Sanji somehow managed to put a small smile for the other man.

Then the captain was taking him by the arms to stand him up in some form and hold him so they could both run to their ship, but doing it was proving to be very difficult. Of course Akainu took advantage of this, now completely out of his stupor. 

The older man was getting ready to strike at both them this time, transforming his entire arm into magma. One blow and they would die. He was sure of it. 

On the other hand Luffy was desperate trying to get Sanji up, but it was to no avail. He decided that he would just pull him to the ship in whatever way he could. He extended his right arm in the direction of the Sunny, hook said limb in the ship’s rail and then enveloped the blond man with his other arm to fly them both at the ship. 

But at that same instant, Akainu got hold of one of Sanji’s leg: the damaged one. The man screamed his lungs out.

Unable to pull out from the older man’s firm grip, Luffy decided to stop trying to fly the way he had tried; it would only hurt Sanji more than what it already was.

The wicked man, seeing as the Straw hat had stopped trying to run away, started to transform the hand that was holding the blonde into lava, causing the young cook great pain. He wanted to scream again but he couldn’t, he was too tired.

Luffy screamed instead, pleading for the man to stop hurting Sanji, but the Fleet Admiral only smiled wickedly.

“How much does it hurt to see the one you love in so much pain?” He said rhetorically.

“Stop!” The young captain screamed.

“Never!” The older man answered.

Luffy tried to hit the man so he would leave Sanji alone, but the man just wouldn’t let go. Then the man spoke again.

“Choose, Straw hat” He continued, “Your loved one or you. Who dies?” 

His evil smile widened.

“Leave him alone. This is between you and me” Said Luffy, completely decided on recuperating Sanji.

“Both of you are trash, so he needs a reminder of that” He said, as he started griping Sanji’s leg more strongly. 

In that moment the cook knew he was going to die and despite all the sadness that came with that thought, if Luffy would run away safely, he would die a happy man.

All the things that he loved made way into his head: Zeff, the Baratie, the Straw hat crew, Luffy…The captain, oh how much he loved the captain. He didn’t have to deny it anymore. He loved Luffy like he never thought he would.

If letting him go meant his captain would survive then he would gladly do it. But he needed to tell his captain one last thing.

“Just run, Luffy. Please” He pleaded.

“No, Sanji! I’m taking you with me!” He said through tears. “I love you!” He screamed.

“And I love you too. That’s why I’m telling to just go” He said through a small tired smile. 

The cook noticed how something in the captain seemed to click.

“Done with the goodbyes?” Said Akainu disgusted by the whole exchange. “It’s time to choose: you or him?”

“No one” Luffy said while looking directly into the tall man’s eyes.

“That’s not an option. At least one of you pirates dies” 

“It is an option! Now, let Sanji go!” He screamed again.

And just like that Akainu let go of the hold of Sanji’s damaged leg. He also fell face down first. 

The same happened with the rest of the marines, which fell in the instant of Luffy’s command. 

No one understood anything, but that didn’t matter because Luffy was finally carrying Sanji back to the Sunny. Back to their home.


	25. Chapter 25

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things work out fine!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe this fic is done!Thanks a lot to everyone who ever read this. It means a lot to me.
> 
> I'm going to be posting today a new fic called "Moon city". It's a Sanlu fic as well, but it's a Hero AU! Hope you guys want to read it and like it :)

Sanji even if in great pain didn’t loose conscience, so he knew what was going on to some level. His mind registered Luffy’s soothing words, his “sorry”s and “I love you”s. He was aware of how Chopper worked on his leg hurriedly and was definitely worried. He also took notice of the fact that the crew had started navigating once again. 

They were finally out of that damn island and the cook couldn’t be happier. Knowing that they were safe made the blonde relax and he then, and only then, passed out.

………………………………

The cook woke up three days after the fight with the Marines, feeling exhausted, almost as if he hadn’t slept those days. His mouth felt dry and he wanted to drink water as soon as possible. He tried to get up to get some but pain quickly dispersed thoughout his whole body. He swore some bad words and layed in bed again. It was like he was still feeling the magma that burned him just a few days ago.

He opened his eyes. He looked around the room and everything was dark, so it was probably night time. Then he saw a silhouette seated in chair close to his bed. He smiled. It was Luffy.

The man was sleeping too and was bandaged in several places, but didn’t seem to be hurting. Well, the captain was known for being able to withstand pain like no other, so it was to no surprise that he was that way even after all the damage he had received. 

He didn’t wake up from Sanji getting up or his exclamations of pain. 

The blonde wanted to drink water but couldn’t due to his pain. He also didn’t want to continue sleeping but didn’t know what to do. He was feeling tons of pain in his leg. In what condition could it be? How much harm had it taken after the battle? 

He wanted to know but at the same he was scared. What if it was so bad he couldn’t walk anymore? The thought terrified him. How would he be able to continue his adventures with the Straw hat crew that way? How would he be their cook for the rest of the time? He wouldn’t be able to find the One Piece and the All Blue. 

He decided he needed to know right now.

He woke Luffy up. The rubber man was a mix of different emotions: happiness, guilt, joy, sadness, etc. It made Sanji nervous. Why was the man that way? Maybe it had something to do with his leg.

Luffy asked quickly how he was. To this Sanji answered that he felt like shit but that he needed Chopper. 

The captain went rapidly to find the doctor and when he did it he came back with him in tow. 

Chopper smiled at him and began asking questions about his state. Then he started checking his vital signs and his body parts to see how they were by now. When he was ready to control his left leg, the hurt one, he stopped though. He made a face and looked at Luffy as if unsure of his next course of action. Sanji knew in that moment that his leg was definitely in bad shape.

“Why are you putting that face, Chopper?” He asked nevertheless.

Chopper gulped and looked once again at Luffy who nodded in an approving way, leading the doctor to continue.

“You see. Your leg is in a really bad condition right now” He said as if he was the one hurting. He added, “It was so bad we thought that maybe we would have to amputate it. Luckly, we were able to rescue you before more damage could be done to the bone, since the muscle was practically destroyed”

Sanji wanted to see how his leg was but Chopper stopped him. He said he had to do it calmly, otherwise he would only hurt it more than how it was. 

Then the cook began wondering the same things he had thought before: if would be able to walk after everything.

“Chopper, will I be able to walk a-after all this passes? He stuttered, but he was so scared of what the young doctor could answer.

“It will take time, Sanji. But I’m sure you will be able” He smiled then, to assure his patient that things would be okay. Then he continued, “Though I must say that there will always be scars in that leg. I’m sorry” He looked so sad.

And so was Luffy. He looked on the verge of tears.

“I’m so sorry, Sanji” He began. “I shouldn’t have fought with that man. I wasn’t thinking, and now your leg…” 

“Chopper, could you please leave us alone for a minute?” Chopper complied but looked concerned for the two pirates. He left the place swiftly.

“It’s okay, Luffy. I would have gotten mad too if someone like Akainu started saying those things about you” He said sincerely. He wanted to make it clear for the captain that he didn’t blame him at all for what had happened.

Luffy seemed relieved, but not less sad.

Then Sanji started to speak about the fact that Luffy’s haoshoku haki had gotten so strong that he had even defeated a Fleet Admiral. With those words he tried to lighten up the mood. They worked a little since Luffy blushed while listening to his compliments.

Even in situtations like these he would blush!

They spent some time together, now with Luffy a little bit happier and calmer. They talked about this and that, and Sanji was getting a little sleepy.

He began telling Luffy how he fell in love with him.

At this Luffy laughed well naturedly and blushed when Sanji said: 

“It was your eyes. They drove me crazy” Said the cook about to fall sleep. He continued, “They still do”

And with that he fell asleep. 

But not before a mouth kissed him softly.

…………………………….

Some years had passed after the fight with the evil Fleet Admiral of the Marines Akainu. They had already managed to find the One Piece and the All Blue. Now each one of them was focused on what came after achieving their dreams.

Nami had made a map of the entire world. Robin had discovered the truth about the Poneglyphs. Franky had seen with his own eyes how the Sunny had traveled the entire Grand Line. Zoro had become the best swordsman in the world and had gotten together with Law as he had wanted so much (even if he denied the last part). Chopper had created cures for almost every disease there was in the world. Brook had finally reunited with Laboom. Usopp had become a great warrior. Jimbe had accompanied Luffy through in his journey. Sanji had found the All Blue and had cooked the most delicious plates there ever were. And Luffy had found the One Piece and become the Pirate King.

When they were done with their dreams they had to separate since they needed to do the things that came after accomplishing them.   
Taking care of them was a hard task but they endured everyday, even if Marines and other pirates tried to take it away from them. 

Sanji had opened a restaurant similar to the Baratie, with Zeff’s approval. He felt really happy since the old man had accepted his relationship with Luffy so easily. The restaurant had the addition of new dishes consisted of the species he had found in the All Blue. 

The first person that tasted his first plate was of course Luffy. He was the Pirate King so it was obvious he would be the chosen one for it.

Even after the years that had come Sanji and Luffy were still together. Not everyone had liked it though, as Boa Hancock had tried to kill him many times. 

The captain liked to travel around the world to visit the many friends he had made while navigating across the whole world. The cook waited for him to come back and the rubber man always did. 

The blonde would wait for him with the most exquisite plates he prepared and the young captain would always say they were the most delicious thing he had ever tasted. 

They would spend each day and night together until the black haired man decided to leave to continue with his endless adventures. 

Sanji didn’t mind one bit because he knew Luffy would always come back to him. And he would see those beautiful eyes that had enchanted him like no other thing had ever done. 

THE END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, thank you so much for reading!


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